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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Mysterious Discovery 
of Nature 



Shown in a Dream to 

DR. P. POLACK 

and 



relating directly to the question of the 

discovery of the North Pole, 

Facts governing the movements of the earth, 

and many important secrets of nature 

that have never been given to the world up to 

this day are shown to him. 



PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR, PETER POOLEY, 

147 WEST CHICAGO AVENUE, 

CHICAGO 






Copyright 1910, by Peter Pooley 



<gGU26847l 



CONTENTS. 

Page. 

North Pole Facts ______ _ _ 9 

To Take Observations ---21 

To Traverse Greenland ------- 29 

Remarks to Millionaires - - - - - - - 31 

To the Religious Fathers - - - - - - ' - 37 

Remarks to Ladies --'--_--- 45 
Remarks to Captain Streeter ------ 49 

How to Conduct a Church -------53 

Captain Streeter's Experience ------ 55 

About Heaven and Hell -------59 

Sacrilegious Greeks and Italians - - - - -69 

Proofs of Sainthood -------- 73 

MYSTERIOUS SECRET OF NATURE - - - 77 

Marriage Law Reform ------- 87 

International Peace -------- 91 

Those Whom God Loves - 93 

The Spirits of the Dead ------- 95 

A Psychic Amanuensis - - - . - - - -99 

Spirit Manifestations ------- 101 

A Letter Written by the Saviour - - - - - 1-1 

Dr. Polack's Purpose - - 132 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

AND 

COLOR PLATES 

Page. 
The Author, Peter Pooley ----- Frontispiece 

Diagram of Atmospheric Displacement - - - - 13 

Diagram Showing Position of North Star - - - - 20 

The Author Taking Observations - - - - - 23 

Sketch of Greenland Tunnel ------ 28 

Diagram Explaining the Mysterious Secret - - -79 

-Miss Etta DeCamp ---97 

Portrait of Professor Lombroso - - - - - - 100 

Portrait of Eusapia Paliuino ------ 101 

The Spirit Hand ---------102 

Photograph Showing Solidification of Spirit Matter - 103 
Measuring Medium's Muscular Force ----- 104 

Radiations from Spirit Matter - - - - - - 105 

The Electric Cardiograph ------- 106 

"The Visiting Spirit" - - - - - - - -108 

Receiving a Spirit Message - - - - - - - 115 

Mould of Hand Made by Spirits - - - - - - 116 

Fantastic Drawings Made by Spirits - - - - - 117 

How a Table Was Lifted by Spirit Power - - - - 119 

A Letter Written by the Saviour - - - - - 121 

King Abgar and the Courier - - - - - - 124 

The Saviour Receiving the Courier - - - - - 125 

King Abgar Receiving the Saviour's Portrait - - -126 
Manuscript Discovered by Father Gaffre - 127 

The Cloth Bearing Christ's Picture ----- 128 

The Courier' Receiving the Portrait - - - - -129 

The Image at Edessa 130 




THE AUTHOR. PETER POOLEY. 
Figuring the distance from Chicago to the North Pole — which he 
finds to be 3,240 miles — and the distance from Chicago to the level 
of the pole — which he learns is 2,640 miles. Since the speed of the 
earth at the equator is 900 miles an hour, its speed at latitude 
forty-two — where Chicago is situated — is but 700 miles an hour ; at 
latitude eighty-four — as far as explorers can go — it is 120 miles an 
hour ; and at the North Pole the earth's speed is but one mile an hour- 



DR. PO LACK'S DREAM. 

Given in Dialogue with Captain Streeter, and Related 
by Himself. 

THE North Pole discovery has produced a great 
sensation in our country and all over the world, 
and thousands have become interested and 
anxious to learn the exact nature of the north 
end of the earth, and have flooded the minds of all with 
this subject. With this volume of thought force upon me, 
I went to bed with the North Pole question uppermost 
in my mind and crowding my sleeping hours ; when, as 
by a miracle, a dream came to me in which were ex- 
plained many secrets of nature in regard to the move- 
ments of the earth, facts in regard to the laws governing 
the same and conditions existing at the poles of the earth 
by virtue of those laws— facts which I do not under- 
stand myself. Was this an ordinary dream, or did some 
invisible spirit bring me the knowledge I desired? So 
I thought to publish this before the world, and ask 
that professors of high education, geologists, astrono- 
mers and scientists study this dream, and use the in- 
formation given for the benefit of mankind. 

The dream was like this : 

Late one afternoon I was taking a walk along the 
Lake Front, and as I was passing Streeterville I saw an 
old gentleman coming toward me, slowly, weak and 
feeble, and supporting himself with two canes. As he 
came nearer he stepped to the edge of the walk and low- 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

ered himself to the curb to rest, and as I approached 
him I saw that it was my old friend, Captain Streeter 
himself, and I said : 

"Good evening, Captain." 

At this he raised his head and said : 

"Well, well, good evening, Dr. Polack." 

"How are you getting along, Captain Streeter?" I 
asked. 

"Oh, I can't get along any more — I am getting too 
old. It is all off with me, and this is my last day in the 
world. I wish you would help me get to my shanty." 

"All right, Captain, with great pleasure," I said. "But 
don't get discouraged. You have many days to live yet." 

"No, no, no. I have told you that this is my last 
evening in this world, and I am glad of it. Tomorrow 
I shall be better off in the next world." 

He appeared to be exhausted and despondent, and as 
we neared the shanty, the Captain said : 

"Open the door, Doctor; take some matches and 
light the lamp, if you please." 

"All right, Captain." 

"Now, Dr. Polack, let me lie down on my lounge, 
and you take a chair and tell me some of the news. I 
have not seen the newspaper today." 

"Well, Captain, the most important news is that Dr. 
Cook has discovered the North Pole." 

"Oh, yes, I saw that in the paper the other day, and I 
am glad of it. Has he succeeded in getting nearer the 
limit than any of the other explorers who have tried?" 

"Well, Captain, he did not get nearer the limit, as you 
say, but he reached the limit and the goal of the earth." 
10 



-NORTH POLE FACTS 

"Oh, no, no ! No man can ever get near or see the 
goal of the earth. It is impossible." 

"What makes you think so, Captain? Is there any- 
thing you know of that makes it impossible ?" 

"Certainly." 

"What is it?" 

"The terrific northerly wind forms a tornado there, 
and any man — should he get within 3 or 4 degrees of the 
goal — would be blown up like a rubber ball. He could 
not stand on his feet at all." 

"And you think that the wind blows continually ; all 
the year around?" 

''Certainly. It is a natural law, for the purpose of 
keeping the earth in form and to keep the water and 
everything else from falling off the earth." 

"I beg your pardon, Captain. I am not much of a 
geologist, but I know that it is the speed of the earth, 
spinning around, that keeps everything from falling off 
— not the northerly wind." 

"Very well, you are right about that, but the earth 
doesn't have the same speed everywhere. Don't you 
know that?" 

"No, I don't know that." 

"Well, if you don't, I will explain it to you, and then 
you will know. Hear how it is : If you should take 
your ship to the equator, or if you should be there on 
land, you would be traveling with the earth at the rate 
of 900 miles an hour. In this latitude we are running 
700 miles an hour, and at the latitude of 84, as far as 
explorers can go. the earth's speed is 120 miles an 
hour, but at its goal, or 'hub', the earth is approximately 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

not more than a mile around, and to travel that mile 
requires twenty-four hours of time. You could walk 
about thirty times around the world in that spot in 
twenty-four hours." 

"Do you think such low speed there would keep the 
water in place and preserve the form of the earth?" 

"No, no, it is not the speed of the earth on its axis, 
but the force of the air, at both the North and South 
Poles, that keeps the earth in shape and presses the 
water back and in toward the earth. Can you see that?" 

"No, I can't. And if that is so, where does this air 
come from? Has Nature some invisible machinery in 
both ends of the earth to produce air to keep the earth 
in form?" 

"No, sir, Nature has no machinery for that purpose." 

"Then why does the air blow with such force, con- 
tinually, the year around, at both the North and the 
South Poles? Can you tell me?" 

"Yes ; by the force of the earth itself." 

"How is that?" 

"I will tell you how it is. You know well that the 
earth, with its highlands, its lowlands, rough high seas, 
high mountains, islands and so on, moves with steady 
speed, through a sea of compressed air. This great 
body, moving with such velocity, naturally displaces the 
air through which it travels, pushing it outward with 
great force, causing the whole body of air to seek some 
unobstructed point from which it may rush in to till the 
vacuum made by the revolution of the earth. This un- 
obstructed place is found at the ends of the earth, north 
and south, where there is no speed and where the earth 
12 




Diagram showing how the envelope surrounding the globe is dis- 
placed by the revolution of the earth, and how the displaced atmos- 
phere sweeps poleward, with continually increasing velocity, and 
finally into the vacuum existing at the pole, where the speed of the 
earth is almost nothing. 



"NORTH POLE FACTS 

is still. Now, if you should get in the way of this air 
as it returns to fill the vacuum, what would it do to you? 
It would blow you up as easily as a feather. This is 
all in accordance with natural law and part of the plan 
of the Originator of our world." 

"I know very well, Captain, that the Originator of the 
world planned many great things unknown to us, but 
how did you find the facts out about all these move- 
ments of the earth and the air ? I can't get them through 
my head very well." 

"Well, if you can't get them through your head, it is 
not my fault, but let me give you an example that may 
help you. You have stood near the railroad track when 
an express train went by, and have noticed how the 
wind almost knocked you down, shook the trees and 
raised the dust right and left, and how the wind follows 
the train? That shows that the air which is pushed out 
by the speed of the train is getting back to its place 
following the line of least resistance, and that is at the 
rear of the car. Another example is the automobile 
running through the country roads in the summer. No- 
tice how the dust and air fly outward as they pass and 
fall at the rear of the machine. It is exactly so with 
the earth." 

"It may be, Captain, but I can't get it into my head 
that the air has such power as you mention, and that 
it keeps the earth in form and holds the water in place." 

"Oh, yes, it has, and you can find an example in the 

small floods that often happen all over the world. Take, 

for instance, the Galveston flood. These floods do not 

occur when the weather is fine and settled, but they 

15 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

come when the wind is blowing a gale and pushing the 
water before it, raising the tide high up, destroying the 
city and devastating the country. I want to call your 
attention to another thing. The Creator has three in- 
struments that He uses to operate and regulate this 
planet; these instruments are water, air, and fire and 
when He wants to clean : out, zz He has done many 
times, the only thing He has to do is to order the earth 
to go a little faster, and this increased speed presses 
the air outward at the center, thus increasing its ve- 
locity at the poles, pressing inward upon the waters of 
the earth, until gradually in LL ; course of twenty-four 
hours they can cover the Highest mountain, laying 
waste the lands and destroying all life upon that portion 
of the earth. Then He regulates the speed again to its 
normal condition for a new world and a new people. 
God has done this many times in the past, and will do it 
again whenever He wants to. The forces of nature are 
God's forces, and when He feels like shaking up some 
city or town, He uses the fire that has been placed in 
the center of the earth, and which lies there silent, 
smouldering, awaiting orders. We blame the volcano, 
but the volcano does nothing without God's orders, 
and be sure of that." 

"Well, Captain, I think all this is too much for me. 
It sounds like an evening story in the newspaper, but 
let us get back to Dr. Cook and the North Pole dis- 
covery. Dr. Cook says he has found the North Pole." 
"He found nothing. I don't believe it." 
"He says he got there April 21 st, and planted the 
Stars and Stripes and a piece of brass tube in the ice." 
16 



-NORTH POLE FACTS 

"No, no, I don't believe it. There is no ice at the 
gml — never was ; no snow, no rain, no hail, nothing of 
the kind." 

"Captain, excuse me, but you are greatly mistaken 
if you think there was never any snow or ice at the 
North Pole." 

"Then you know better than I, but I can prove it to 
you or to anyone else." 

"How can you prove it to me ? I shall be glad to hear 
your explanation." 

"Well, Doctor, I will prove it to you if you will an- 
swer me these two questions." 

"All right, Captain, I will answer if I can." 

"Then, Doctor, can you tell me what these clouds are 
composed of?" 

"Well, the clouds are supposed to be the water and 
dampness of the earth drawn up by the hot beams of 
the sun, thus forming the body of the clouds." 

"Exactly. You are right on that point. Now, tell 
me if you ever felt any rain or snow or hail falling upon 
your head when there were no clouds and the sky was 
clear?" 

"No, never." 

"Very well, Doctor. You certainly know that when 
standing at the goal of the earth you are in a horizontal 
position with the axis of the earth, your head pointing 
north, and your feet south. Then, if any rain should 
come down on your head, it would have to come from 
away north of the earth. You can readily see from 
your definition that there should be no clouds formed 
way north of the earth, so, as the sky is always clear 
17 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

there, no rain or snow can ever fall at the goal of the 
earth, and be sure of that." 

"That may be, Captain Streeter, but I had never con- 
sidered those facts. I am very much interested to know 
if it is possible to find out the exact nature of the earth 
at the North Pole, or at those points that the explorers 
are said to have reached. What do you think about it, 
Captain ?" 

"My dear man, you want to know something that is 
impossible to find out from actual observation, but 
God has given to man a reasoning power based upon 
observation and experience, which will enable such men 
as you and I, who have navigated the waters and trav- 
eled the earth ever so many times, to know exactly how 
things are without actual observation, and I can de- 
scribe to you pretty closely how things look at the pole. 
At the pole there is nothing but an open sea of salt water, 
and the terrific winds that strike it lash it to a foam, 
to a boiling, seething cauldron, and the roar of it can 
be heard many miles inland. The atmosphere is filled 
with a dark and heavy fog, which, as it rises, forms 
clouds, and at about three degrees south of the pole you 
will find snow flurries and snow blizzards. At about 
four or five degrees south of the pole the winds con- 
tract one another, and clouds from every direction come 
together with a horrible pressure, and this is the worst 
and the severest zone in the world. The snow comes 
down, heavy and continual, and the eighty-fifth and 
eighty-sixth degrees are known to explorers as the 
perilous parallel. No man has ever crossed this parallel, 
18 




Diagram showing position of the Xorth Star in relation to the 
North Pole and the entire globe. 



TO TAKE OBSERVATIONS. 

and no explorers need try to pass any farther north 
than from the eighty-third to eighty-fourth." 

"Well, Captain, you don't mean to say that the 
weather is the same there the year around?" 

"No, no. In the summer the wind blows just the 
same, but there is not so much snow, as the days are 
too long and the sun is too strong." 

"Then at that time there is a- chance for explorers 
to cross that parallel." 

"You might think so, but the summer is just as bad 
as the winter. The sun melts and levels the snow, and 
gives it the appearance of solid ice, but woe to the 
traveler who attempts to cross, for the salt water is 
working its way underneath, melting the ice from below, 
so that when the traveler attempts to cross with his 
sleds and paraphernalia he will come to weak places 
in it that will not bear the weight, the ice cracks and 
down he goes, never to come up again." 

"Captain, I think you are right about that, and Dr. 
Cook is a fakir when he says he reached the North 
Pole." 

"Well, I don't call him a fakir. He might have 
thought he had reached the pole, when he found he had 
gone as far as he could, that it was impossible to go 
farther, then because of his ignorance he might have 
thought he had found the pole, but he was mistaken." 

"How about his observations? He says he took ob- 
servations every day. Why did they not tell him the 
pole was not there?" 

"What observations? He never took any proper 
observations. He might have taken a sextant out for 
21 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

a bluff to make the Eskimos believe that he was taking 
observations. What did they know about what he was 
doing? I don't believe you yourself know anything 
about observations, either." 

"No, sir. I don't know anything about observations. 
What instruments are necessary and how to use them 
I do not know, and I would be very glad to have you 
explain this to me." 

"Very well, I will give you a full explanation and then 
you will see how impossible it was for Dr. Cook to 
have taken proper observations. The instruments nec- 
essary to take observations at sea are the sextant and 
the chronometer. The sextant is used to determine the 
latitude north and south from the Equator to the North 
Pole or the South Pole, according to the zone you are 
traveling in. The chronometer is a clock so perfectly 
constructed that it will keep the correct time for years 
without the slightest variation, and it is for the purpose 
of determining the longitude east and west. These in- 
struments are not adapted to use on land, and great 
skill and accuracy are required in their use. The sex- 
tant, for example, requires a perfectly level surface, as 
the sea, and observations taken on land can be only 
calculations or mere guess work. I will explain to you 
the method used by navigators in taking proper observ- 
ations. The ship's chronometer occupies a place in 
the cabin, and shows London or Greenwich time. At 
about twenty minutes before noon the captain takes the 
sextant on deck, connects the looking glasses and ad- 
justs them according to the power of the sun. By 
turning and spinning half a dozen small screw handles 
22 



THE AUTHOR TAKING OBSERVATIONS. 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

he brings the sun to the horizon. Before noon the sun 
will always rise up from the horizon again, but the 
captain with his instruments brings it clown to the 
horizon again and again, watching the sun carefully, and 
when the sun begins to rise very slowly the captain calls 
to the mate in the cabin, who stands by the chrono- 
meter, ready, and when the sun comes to a stop at the 
horizon, then the captain calls 'Stop,' and the mate 
marks down the hours, the minutes, the seconds, and the 
half seconds of the chronometer, and sets the ship's clock 
at noon. So the captain and the mate stand an hour or 
more before they get through counting and figuring 
in order to know just where the lines of latitude and 
longitude meet as shown by the sextant and the chrono- 
meter, and find just where the ship stands at sea. 

"Another thing I must explain to you that is very 
important and requires a great deal of care. The sex- 
tant is arranged so that when a man takes an observa- 
tion he is supposed to be standing half in the water 
and half out, his hands with the instrument to be level 
with the horizon. As these observations are always 
taken from the deck of the ship, he must know exactly 
how many feet he is from the water, and figure ac- 
cordingly. You see, my dear friend, that taking an 
observation is very particular work, and if you meet 
Dr. Cook, as I never can meet him myself, and he tolls 
you that he took observations every day without as- 
sistance, that he watched carefully the sextant and the 
chronometer and kept his fingers exposed fifteen or 
twenty minutes, with the temperature sixty degrees 
below zero, to adjust the sextant for the observation 

24 



TO TAKE OBSERVATIONS. 

and that he dragged a fine chronometer for two years 
through that parallel, in the snow blizzards and snow 
drifts, and that they did not get rusty and spoil, and that 
he spread his charts in the snow fields to make his ac- 
counts, and that he was able to find and measure a level 
with the horizon for his sextant, and with all these ob- 
servations he found the North Pole, and planted the 
Stars and Stripes and a brass tube at the goal of the 
earth, then you may ask him if he is sure of it. Then 
you might give him a little advice from me — for the 
next time, if he wants to visit the North Pole again, 
to plant a new Stars and Stripes at the pole — not to 
take any instruments with him. He has to suffer too 
much taking these observations. Tell him the only 
thing he needs is a compass and a brick-layer's level. 
The compass will keep him in the direction he wants to 
go, and will lead him right to the goal of the earth, and 
when he sees it get out of commission and refuse to 
work any more, but keep revolving round and round 
in its box, then he can know that the goal is reached, 
and he can plant the new flagpole straight with the brick- 
layer's level. To make doubly sure that -he is at the 
pole, he may place his eye at the bottom of the flag 
pole, then he will see the North Star shining bright and 
clear directly above him." 

"Well, Captain, even if I meet him, I shall hardly 
dare to tell him this. He might take me for a crazy 
man." 

"How could he take you for a crazy man? Why?" 
(gruffly) 

"Because the North Star always stands north of the 
25 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

earth, and God knows how many thousand miles away 
from the earth. How, then, could that star be above 
his head? It is impossible." 

"It is not impossible, Doctor. It is possible, and 
you just tell him so, and if he disagrees with you, you 
give him this explanation. The North Star, of course, 
stands straight north from the center of the earth, and 
we have proof of it. That star can be seen as far as the 
Equator, and at the Equator, looking north, it is just 
discernable at the level of the horizon, and can be seen 
in the morning as well as in the evening. That is, in 
the morning you are on one side of the globe and see 
the North Star at the horizon ; in the evening you are 
on the opposite side of the globe and again see the North 
Star at the horizon. This is sufficient proof that the 
star stands at the center, north of the earth. As you 
travel north from the Equator the North Star gets high- 
er and higher, because the earth is round and you are 
traveling always downward until at the North Pole 
your head points due north or straight out toward the 
North Star with your body in a horizontal position. 
Now, if you would give my advice to Dr. Cook, I think 
he might thank you, as it would relieve him of the 
trouble of taking observations." 

"Now, Captain Streeter, I think you are perfectly 
right about that, and if I meet Dr. Cook, I will inquire 
about his observations. Your information and explan- 
ation in regard to the northern part of the earth have 
interested me very much, but I want to ask you an- 
other question. Suppose Dr. Cook has been nearer to 
the pole than any other explorer, or at the pole, as he 
26 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

says, and the United States claims the North Pole — is 
that land worth anything to the United States?" 

"It is not worth anything from eighty degrees up; 
it is not worth anything to anybody." 

"And directly south of eighty degrees, do you think 
there is any value in that land?" 

"Certainly. That is Greenland, and is a valuable 
land, but on account of the disagreeably cold climate, 
the nations who have possessions there have never 
bothered themselves to explore it, and it stands there 
a great and valuable, but almost unoccupied, country. 
If they had the American brain and courage, that whole 
land would be opened up." 

"Well, Captain, I think it would not be difficult for 
some large corporation to buy up a large part of that 
land, but the question is, has that land any valuation? 
As you say, a man who uses his brains makes many 
valuable discoveries. I wish you would tell me for what 
purpose you consider that land valuable, and how it 
would be possible to open up the interior of that coun- 
try without great suffering and loss of life." 

"Doctor, I think you are loading my brain pretty 
heavily, and I will have to study in order to give you the 
detailed information you ask of me. However, the 
first apparent valuation of that land is the enormous 
amount of wild animals there, and even now we see 
many hunters chartering ships purposely for the capture 
of those animals they find along the shore. They are 
unable to go far inland, because they have no facilities 
for bringing their game out. Still, it pays them t<> go 
there. The second valuation of that land is its precious 
28 



TO TRAVERSE GREENLAND 

metals — gold, silver, diamonds, etc., in which it is as 
rich as our land — as Alaska, Arizona, and so on, and 
no man has ever put his. foot on it. Now, I can ex- 
plain to you the cheapest and quickest way to open up 
the interior of this valuable country ; it is to build a sort 
of tunnel. Use the principle of the sewer pipe with a 
difference that, instead of being round, sections are 
made square — about eight feet long by five feet 
wide ; the sides at the top to project two and one- 
half inches higher than the surface, for the bed of 
a railroad. These pipes must be strong enough to hold 
another pipe above them without breaking, and every 
twenty-five feet should have an opening for ventilation 
and light. ■ These pipes complete a tunnel to start from 
the nearest point of navigation. Here a plant should 
be established for the manufacture of pipes at the start- 
ing point of the tunnel. First, they should lay twenty 
or twenty-five pipes. Then, by means of two small 
derricks, of the same kind as those which we use here 
in the city for lowering the water mains — one derrick 
at the starting point and the other at the end of the 
pipes already laid — additional pipes could be raised to 
the track laid upon the sunken pipes, pushed to the ex- 
treme end and lowered into place. Thus, section by 
section, the tunnel would be built. The pipes should be 
made watertight at the joints with cement. Twenty or 
thirty miles of this tunnel could be built every summer. 
and in case a heavy storm should come up during opera- 
tions, the workman would find shelter inside the tunnel. 
They could eat and sleep there comfortably, and steam 
pipes could be laid inside if necessary, from the plant." 

29 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

"Captain, I am pleased with your ideas for opening 
up that part of the world. I think they are all right." 

"I know my ideas are all right, but I would like to ask 
you a question." 

"Certainly, Captain." 

"What was your idea in asking me about the North 
Pole and the northern lands? Was that for your own 
benefit, or for the benefit of our country; or do you 
intend to publish my ideas?" 

"Well, I thought I was learning something from you. 
You are an old gentleman, and have been traveling for 
many years, all over the world. You have gained much 
wisdom through your observation and your experi- 
ence. These facts and observations are worth a great 
deal to the world at large and to me as an individual. 
I have learned more in regard to certain laws than I 
have ever learned from books, and I don't believe, 
Captain, that you would object to my publishing your 
ideas." 

"No objection whatever, but the public are not in- 
terested, and might not give it sufficient attention to 
see more in it than foolish nonsense." 

"No, sir, no one will take it for foolish nonsense. 
Those that are not interested will pay no attention, 
that's all. Everybody gets the newspaper, very few 
read all that there is in it, but everybody reads that 
which interests him. You know, Captain, we have 
many multimillionaires in our country today, men who 
were once poor boys, who are looking around for new 
ideas, new inventions, new heads, and so on, and they 
are the people who read everything. When they get 
30 



REMARKS TO MILLIONAIRES 

hold of a new idea that is practical, they don't rest until 
they put their millions to work to carry out that idea. 
Look at J. P. Morgan, with his millions upon millions, 
and still working in railroad's, steamship companies, 
steel companies, telegraph companies, traveling and 
personally looking after his numerous enterprises. Then 
J. P. Morgan starts all these lines of business all over 
the world? No, he observed the beginnings of others, 
and by force of his great wealth he was able to control 
them. Then look at Mr. Harriman, another of the 
great, and perhaps the greatest, of American financiers. 
A poor boy, with little education, who died at the age 
of 61, leaving a hundred million dollars. He did not 
understand builHing cars or railroads, but his great 
brain was directed toward the efforts of others. His 
keen observation and foresight, his strong reasoning 
power soon placed him at the head of the enterprise, 
and gave him the controlling interest. So I think that 
whatever a man knows or is able to do should not be 
hid or kept to himself, but should be published and 
given to the world, and there will be raised up some 
great mind to help him carry out his ideas with in- 
finitely more profit to himself and lasting benefit to the 
world. What if he does make one hundred million out 
of it ? Every man is entitled to the product of his brain 
energy, the same as to the product of his physical en- 
ergy, and even then he keeps only a small share for 
himself. The world reaps the harvest of his power." 

"Well, Doctor, are you through with your speech? 
Is there anything more you wish to say ?" 

"No, I have said all I wish to say about it." 
31 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

"You say every man's duty is to publish whatever 
he knows or discovers. To give it away. You are 
right about that, but do you think that those men who 
have accumulated such enormous wealth ever gave away 
an idea for the benefit of the public, or advised the 
public of any project which would revert to the pros- 
perity of the whole country?" 

"I don't know about that. I think their business 
does not allow them to give much attention to public 
interest." 

"Oh, 'their business doesn't allow them to do so'? Let 
me tell you, Doctor, something that you do not know. 
The most of those great financiers in the world have 
not natural ability to do anything with their own hands. 
If you gave them a pocket knife with which to sharpen 
a toothpick, they could not do it, but they look around, 
as you say, at what other men are doing, and when they 
find a place where there is big money, they work their 
way in, and then they turn their brain energy to intro- 
ducing new methods for transacting the business — how 
to franchise and monopolize — and gradually they get 
control of everything and use it for their own interests, 
never acting on the principle of 'live and let live.' 
They leave that out of the question entirely. They take 
whatever is in their power to take, and it is not a mat- 
ter of their concern if the people suffer or starve, or 
if their manipulations bring panic to the country. They 
are pleased with their success, and thev keep working, 
wearing out their lives to the last. Then they realize 
that all they have done was in vain. We have had 
many examples, not only in this country, but in the 
32 



REMARKS TO MILLIONAIRES 

old country, too, and this Mr. Harriman that you men- 
tioned is- only one out of many. He overworked his 
brain, ruined his health, but with all his wisdom, in 
his last days he did something that the most unedu- 
cated man never would have done, and you know that 
he did." 

'1 know it? I know nothing of anything wrong that 
he did. I know that the papers were filled with ac- 
counts of his enterprise, and spoke nothing but praises 
of him, and the whole country mourned the loss of the 
greatest railroad man that ever lived, and one who had 
done so much for his country in extending his lines, 
facilitating and building up business for the people. That 
is all I know about him." 

"I know all that, and what he did in that way was all 
right, but I refer to his last will and testament that 
he fixed himself with fifty-nine words, leaving every- 
thing he had in the world to his wife. Do you think 
that was right?" 

"Well, what of it? There was no harm done, was 
there? He probably had all confidence in her ability 
to carry out his wishes and so much love and respect 
for her that he thought best to leave everything in her 
hands, and that was proper." 

"No, sir, it wasn't proper. If she was so good and 
he had so much love and respect for her, he should not 
have imposed such a punishment upon her. The 
weight of a hundred millions is too much for the brain 
of a woman, and the responsibility of transacting the 
business of the largest railroad in the world is too 
great. She is practically a slave to wealth, and for 
33 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

what? Just a living, and in a short time she will 
make another will of fifty-nine words and leave the 
burden for others. And you call that right, Doctor?" 

"Well, Captain Streeter, I should like to hear what 
you think he should have done with his fortune, then." 

"I will tell you what I think he should have done with 
his fortune. First, he should have provided for his good 
wife — giving her the two million-dollar mansion, with all 
the carriages, automobiles, etc., and sixty thousand a 
year for her expenses, and without the worry or trouble 
of business. She should have her comfortable sleep and 
all the freedom of this beautiful world, insuring her 
long life and the greatest amount of happiness, and 
next he should leave twenty-five million for himself. 
After that, ample legacies to relatives and the remainder 
of his enormous fortune to be divided among his chil- 
dren, share and share alike, to be used in transacting 
and promoting his great business interests. This is the 
kind of a will I think he should have made. He is di- 
rectly responsible for the results growing out of the 
use of the money he has piled up. Don't you think so?" 

"There is no mistake. Captain. Your ideas are right, 
but what do you mean by twenty-five million for him- 
self. I can't understand that. He could not take his 
money with him to the next world." 

"Certainly not, but he can put it where he will get the 
benefit of it in the next world. Let him leave it where 
there is necessity in this world, and he will get the 
benefit and return of his money the next day after he 
dies." 

"Well, well, well — so quick! The next day?" 
34 



REMARKS TO MILLIONAIRES 

"Yes, sir, the next day, and be sure of that." 

"Suppose Mr. Harriman had left twenty-five mil- 
lion where there is necessity, as you say, should he 
have that money in Heaven now?" 

"Yes, sir, every cent of it." 

"And by the necessities of others, you mean the chari- 
ties of this world?" 

"Yes, sir, the charities. This is the place where he 
could have placed his money and taken a letter of 
credit on the bank of Heaven." 

"And what kind of charities do you mean, Captain? 
To build churches, hospitals, public institutions? What?" 

"No, no, no. We have plenty of churches — and if 
anybody wants to go to church, he will find one — plenty 
of charity hospitals for the unfortunates to be butchered 
by the students, plenty of charity institutions to torture 
the victims of poverty. It is not necessary to give any 
money for such purposes, but give it to the originators 
who helped him make the one hundred millions." 

"Whom do you mean by the originators ? The rail- 
road men who put him in the railroad business?" 

"No, sir. The originators are the workingmen, the 
laborers who burned themselves under the beams of the 
sun, who exposed themselves to rain and frost and cold, 
and toiled the long days through to level the earth, to 
lay the rails for his railroads, and the miners who bored 
holes in the earth to bring out the steel for the rails, 
the moulders who roasted themselves in the process of 
melting the steel to make the rails, the carpenters who 
built the cars for him, the conductors and helpers who 
worked day and night protecting Mr. Harriman's in- 
35 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

terests in running cars, using untiring energy and skill 
in protecting the lives of those who rode in Mr. Hani- 
man's cars, all the while piling up the dollars that put 
together made him one hundred million, while all this 
time Mr. Harriman slept comfortably and enjoyed the 
fruits of their labor. These are the poor people who 
need and deserve the charities of the rich, and it be- 
hooves the rich man to remember that the workingman 
is the basis on which the prosperity of every business 
and the fortune of every rich man is laid. That is, if he 
expects a letter of credit on the bank of Heaven." 

"Say Captain, now suppose Mr. Harriman had left 
the twenty-five million to be distributed among his 
poor workingmen, as you say ; how would he find all 
those laborers scattered all over the United States? It 
would be impossible, and many idlers would makei 
claims who had not done a stroke of work for Mr. Harri- 
man, yet they are poor and need money, these people 
who don't deserve it." 

"Doctor, you are right on that point. I know that 
there are thousands of poor people in our country in 
every line of business, who are poor because they want 
to be poor ; let them stay poor, for the more money 
they make the more they blow away. I do not say 
that class should be helped ; but there is one class of 
poor people — not only poor, but slaves — who are eco- 
nomical, living moderately and saving every dollar they 
can, just to get a small homestead for themselves, their 
wives and their children to live in. They have such a 
longing for the temptation to invest their savings, they 
are over-anxious, and do not wait until they can pay 
36 



TO THE RELIGIOUS FATHERS 

all cash, but put in all they have, and for the balance 
they give mortgages for one, two or three thousand 
dollars. They don't know what a mortgage on a home- 
stead means, but they soon find out. The mortgage 
shark has him in his grasp, and he is powerless. In 
addition he had the incidental expense of taxes, special 
assessments, carpenters, plumbers, paper hangers, cal- 
ciminers, and so on, and so on, and the pick and the 
shovel and the hammer do not bring in sufficient to sat- 
isfy all these demands, and these poor men and their 
families live in misery and poverty. I am sure there are 
five millions of these poor workingmen's families in the 
United States suffering because of these homestead 
mortgages, and they average five in every family, and 
that makes twenty-five million slaves in the United 
States. Now, if Mr. Harriman had wished to appropri- 
ate this amount to his own interest, a method of distri- 
bution could easily have been arrived at • that would 
help only the worthy man, who had made a good fight 
to save his home. Take, for instance, a mortgage of 
from one to five thousand dollars that has been running 
over four years ; that has been extended once or more. 
This poor man is unable to pay the amount of his mort- 
gage. Small payments will not be received to lessen 
the indebtedness and amount of interest. He must 
either give up all he has paid and lose his home, or 
keep on paying interest the best part of his life. Let 
this man bring proof that he has no other property, 
that he had made a brave effort to protect his home, 
and that he is unable to do so ; then let a check issue 
from Mr. Harriman's business manager, giving to that 
37 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

man legal title to his home. And with twenty-five mil- 
lions how many homes could be saved, how many slaves 
freed, how many hearts made happy to sing the praises 
of the just, the wise and Christian charity of Mr. Harri- 
man — not for one year or two, but for generations to 
come ! Think you not that these prayers of praise 
going up from the hearts of so many people will be 
registered in the Lamb's Book of Life, insuring him a 
glorious freedom in that land, and build for him 'Man- 
sions not made with hands, eternal in the heavens'? 
Methinks any millionaire should consider this a more 
fitting monument to his glory than blocks of stone or 
the building or unbuilding of family fortune, and this 
is the way that every man may enjoy his money after 
he had given it up in this world." 

"Captain, there is no mistake, your ideas are per- 
fectly right, but I am going to tell you something that 
you have never thought of. You must know that nowa- 
days many of the highly educated professors, scien- 
tists and teachers, educators of the younger people, 
don't believe anything, and they do not give to the 
younger people any instruction or any idea of religion 
at all. They instruct them only in business, business, 
business, or educate them along other lines that bring 
in money ; the young people grow up with that upper- 
most in their minds, and when they enter into business, 
they follow the example and the instructions of others — 
'Money, money, money !' — until they have each accumu- 
lated a fortune. Then, at the end of life, when they 
are wondering how they can perpepuate their names in 
this world's history, they find there is nothing they can 
38 



TO THE RELIGIOUS FATHERS 

do but give money, and so they leave, some ten, twenty, 
and some maybe twenty-five millions of dollars to put 
up buildings which they think will benefit the public — 
and that is all!" 

"Yes, Doctor, I see, but let me tell you something 
that you seem never to think of. You must know, 
know very well, too, that those people to whom you 
talk, all of them, have some kind of religious belief, 
and it is more than likely that many of them belong to 
some church, and at least have respect for the church, 
or that they attend church sometimes at least; and if 
they should find there a minister who would teach and 
preach the truth, as the disciples of Jesus Christ did, 
in a proper way, and thus give the people to understand 
from the beginning to the end the Christian religion, 
that there is foundation and truth, teach them that we 
never die, that our bodies return to the earth from 
whence they came, and that the spirit, which lives on 
forever, is invisible ; that immediately after we leave 
this world the spirit goes to where it belongs, where 
we enjoy either the glories of Heaven or the misery 
of the darkness under the shadow of the earth, there to 
remain forever. I repeat, if the ministers would give 
to the people this kind of ideas and information, they 
would be sure to make Christians out of them. But 
some of our ministers, I regret to say, appear to be 
preaching for the 'almighty dollar' just as are men en- 
gaged in other professions and callings. By these means 
the preachers instill into the minds of their hearers 
wrong and false ideas." 

"Well, well, Captain Streeter, that is too much for 
39 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

me to understand — all that you said ; but I think they 
can preach all that they have been taught and all they 
have seen and learned about this world, but what do 
they or anybody else know about the next world?" 

"I know they don't know about the next world, but 
they could find out if they would pray to Jesus Christ to 
show them in their dreams where Heaven is and where 
and what hell is ; and He would show them if they were 
clean and truthful ; but instead they use the name of 
the Saviour as a cloak, to aid them in their business, 
and the people soon find this out, and, therefore, they 
do not pay any heed to what they say. It is just as 
Gypsy Smith, one of the greatest religious preachers, 
said in his lecture : 'Don't hug your sins. If a man 
goes to hell — wherever that is, and I don't know — I say, 
if a man goes there, it is not the fault of God,' and that 
doesn't convince the people that there is any such place 
as hell, because he says he doesn't know himself. He 
also adds, 'You don't go to hell because you are a sin- 
ner, but because you refuse to walk over the bridge 
that God built for you.' He might as well say to the 
assassin, 'You don't go to jail because you are an as- 
sassin, but because you refuse to change your prin- 
ciples.' " 

"What else did this evangelist say?" 

"Tray, pray, let us pray; pray without ceasing/ 
The Lord didn't call for the righteous, but for sinners 
to repent. He charges the sinners to repent, believe 
and thus become converted if they would be saved. When 
Gypsy Smith preached, he would always point up in the 
direction of Heaven ; if talking in the morning, to his 
40 



TO THE RELIGIOUS FATHERS 

hearers, he would point toward the west, and at the 
noon lecture he would point upward, and at the evening 
lecture he would point toward the east, while at his 
midnight lecture he pointed upwards again, to Heaven. 
While he was pointing downwards at the opposite from 
where he was pointing at his noon lecture, he was in 
Heaven already, and he didn't know it, and he never 
thought that Heaven and hell are right here — around 
this planet. He never thought to say to his hearers that 
the Heavenly Judge never forgives any man unless he 
settles with his victims in this world. He never takes 
any example from our own judges in this world, that 
they have not power to forgive any burglar through his 
cries and prayers ; this is not the right way to preach, 
to shout, Tray, pray.' Prayers don't help any sinner." 

"Captain, do you mean that a man must not pray any 
more to his Heavenly Father?" 

"I did not say that. But every person must pray in 
some way, when it is necessary. In the morning, for 
instance, raise your eyes to Heaven and thank God for 
keeping you through the night ; pray to Him to keep 
you in good health and spirits, that you may be enabled 
to earn your daily bread ; to keep you free from acci- 
dents ; and if you think to do this every day your voice 
will be known to Him, and whenever you are in trouble 
or accident and can not help yourself, He will be pres- 
ent to save you. But if you pray to Him all the time 
and consult Him about everything, in small matters, 
when you are able to help yourself by the ordinary use 
of hand and brain, then He will consider you unworthy 
41 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

and foolish, and so will not at other times listen to your 
real wants." 

"Now, there is another thing about prayer, the 
prayer for forgiveness. You must understand that every 
one is liable to commit crime, which interferes with 
the laws of God and nature. You must pray to God to 
forgive you for that, and those are the only prayers 
you need, and don't pay any attention to those who 
pray in the streets and outside of their churches, shout- 
ing at the top of their voices to lure you in ; 'Come to 
the Lord, come to Jesus !' And if you do go in, you 
find no Jesus there, but many rows of seats, and an 
organ, and that is all ; when they know very well that 
if they go to the White House they will see portraits 
of all our presidents, from the first to the last ; if they 
go to the mayor's office they will see all the mayors, 
from the first to the last ; if they go to the court- 
room they will see many of our good judges ; if 
you go to their own houses they will show you 
very costly portraits ; and say to you, 'This is my 
grandfather ; this is my father ; this is my mother ; this 
is my brother/ but never, never, never show you the 
portrait of Jesus Christ, who makes them to have good 
times and joy in this world — not in their houses and 
not in their churches do they have any portraits of 
Christ, and if you ask them why they do not have 
pictures of Jesus Christ in their churches and their 
homes they will tell you that they don't believe in them, 
that they don't know how Jesus Christ looked. If this 
is true, surely they never read the history of the first 
picture of Christ, and how it was obtained. One of 

42 



TO THE RELIGIOUS FATHERS 

these skeptics once said that he could not believe any- 
thing he had never seen, and a Quakeress, to whom he 
was talking, replied, 'Does thee believe thee has any 
brains? Has thee ever seen them?' It is just as true 
with skeptics. However, Christian churches in Europe 
nearly all have pictures of Christ, and many in this 
country, also. These people should know that this first 
picture of Christ was drawn by himself. It may be in- 
teresting for some to know how this was done. King 
Abgar was desirous of securing a picture of the Saviour 
and sent a courier out to bring one to him. When the 
courier failed in his mission, Christ himself called 
Thomas to Him, commanding him to pour water on 
His hands and to wash His face, and then, taking a 
cloth of fine linen, He wiped His face and the Divine 
visage was impressed on the cloth. This cloth was 
then delivered to the courier and sent to Abgar. Fac- 
similes of this portrait have been handed down to us, 
and the Scriptures teach us that they are worthy of 
the deepest veneration. And all the Christian churches 
should have the portrait of Jesus Christ, the same as 
that one ; while evangelists and many others should do 
the same thing, if they ever expect to be saved. And 
any man who loves and respects the Saviour and wants 
to be saved, must keep away from the churches that 
have not the picture of Jesus Christ. Every man must 
know that those religious fathers work in a different 
way from the way the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ 
did, from whom they should take an example. They 
know very well that when the disciples died, they left 
no last will or property or any wealth or any bank ac- 
43 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

counts, but the leaders of these churches do. They 
know also that when Jesus was preaching in the syna- 
gogue He had with Him twelve men as His helpers. 
Now, instead of men, these religious preachers have 
young women and pretty choir girls to aid them. Now, 
they read the Gospel and they know that Jesus Christ 
never preached temperance and so interfered with the 
business of the people, or closed up their business and 
prohibited them from selling articles which they pro- 
duced from the earth, or ground, created for man's use. 
Moreover, they never interfered by closing the theaters 
and other places of amusement. They did instruct the 
people not to believe in wooden images and other idols, 
and to put their belief in God as the Creator of the 
earth and the whole universe. They taught the people 
to observe the Commandments, framed and printed by 
the holy man, Moses. These Commandments embody 
the whole religious duty of man. They instructed the 
people to live in peace, and not in war; taught them 
against marrying their own blood relations, and other 
things that pertain to the physical, mental and moral 
benefits of the race ; they made plain the duty of man to 
God and to man himself, comparing the shortness of 
this life with the life eternal, and ended by stating that 
man must give an account of the deeds done during a 
lifetime, whether these deeds be good or evil, before 
the court of God. This was the work that Jesus Christ 
commanded His disciples to go forth and do in His 
name. But those Chicago disciples, after the hard work 
of Sunday, spend Monday opening and reading all the 
newspapers and records of the police courts, looking 
44 



REMARKS TO LADIES 

over the accounts of Sunday's proceedings to see if 
there has been any disorderly conduct or drunkenness, 
and drawing petitions to present to the mayor and the 
city council to close up the saloons and abolish the red- 
light districts, just to cut off the liberties of the people ; 
and the hard workingman, who toils early and late, in 
heat and in cold, in rain and storm, in dirt and filth, in 
smoke and dust, wearing out his life for others, must 
give an account of what he eats and drinks, to those 
idlers whose hands are never soiled by toil and who live 
like parasites upon the lives and blood of their fellow 
men. And this we call the Christian church work. 
Rather let us call it by its right name — Business Church 
Companies." 

"Captain, if I am not mistaken, I think all those 
church workers are temperance people, because nobody 
ever sees them go into public saloons, and as they have 
no use for the saloon they may think that people would 
be better off without any saloons at all." 

"No, sir, you are mistaken. They don't drink at the 
saloons, but they do drink at home, and they get the 
liquor from wholesale dealers. Now, I don't mean to 
say that is any crime — that is, for people to drink when 
they have a desire for it, but I do mean to say that it 
is not their business to work so hard to close up the 
public saloon, which is a matter of necessity for the 
people, and they know very well that every city has 
public drinking places, and every village all over the 
world, and that if there are any disorderly places in the 
city, the city administration looks after that — not the 
church people, and they have no right tu call the at- 
45 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

tention of all the women's societies to these things and 
to form parades, marching down town with banners 
and music purposely to close up the disorderly places 
that I spoke of. They never think that they are just 
as great violators of God's law and even the laws of 
man. They never think that the earthly and political 
judge is not there to try the disorderly cases of the 
heavenly commissioners or the Gospel preacher, and 
they never think that political officers are not hunting 
about the country for a preacher to bring them to jus- 
tice for disorderly conduct, but we often hear of such 
cases. I don't mean that all church people violate the 
law, for they don't, and I don't mean all citizens vio- 
late the law either, but in proportion — the number of 
citizens compared to the number of churchmen — all are 
in the same condition, and they know it, too, Doctor." 

"Captain Streeter, I think you are mistaken on one 
point." 

"What is that?" 

"You criticise them for having the women's societies 
connected with their organizations. Now, as I under- 
stand it, the women are opposed to the saloons because 
the men of their families spend their time there, and so 
take the money away from their wives and children. 
The families starve, and as a result the women seek 
help from the ministers of the churches." 

"Wait a minute, Doctor. There is something to say 
in connection with this very point. Now, you must 
know that women's brains don't reach any farther than 
their eyes, while men's brains reach all over the world 
in a minute. If these women should go to the ministers 
46 



REMARKS TO LADIES 

for aid in closing the saloons, the ministers would have 
to say to the women : 'You must know that many men 
go to the saloons because their wives drive them there, 
for they treat their husbands like dogs. Whatever she 
says goes, and whatever he says doesn't go, and with 
this state of affairs in his home, in order to avoid her 
scoldings he seeks refuge in the saloon.' There are 
some other women who will not allow their husbands to 
drink at home, on account of the children, that they 
may not see him in the act of drinking and so learn 
the habit themselves. Now, this is the reason the men 
are compelled to go to saloons. For this reason the 
minister is compelled to speak to the woman in this 
way : Tf your husband visits the saloon, you are the 
only one who can prevent him. And. this is the way 
you can drive him from the saloons. You can go to a 
wholesale place where liquor is sold, get a half gallon 
or a gallon of the liquor he drinks, and tell him gently 
that you know his work is very hard, that you know he 
likes liquor, and moreover that you know he goes to 
the saloon for it. Tell him that you have bought some 
that he can drink at home, that what you bought cost 
only a cent or two, while he would have spent ten, 
fifteen, or twenty-five cents if he got it at the saloon. 
With this method of procedure, using gentleness of 
speech, studying his personal desires, he will soon be 
able to abandon the public saloon.' Then the woman 
could be told that if we should help you to close the 
saloons we would be committing an unpardonable crime, 
because the liquor business is one of the largest busi- 
ness enterprises in the country, it is of course the means 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

of livelihood to millions of people. There are farmers, 
distillers, and wholesale and retail dealers, and it can 
readily be seen that if the saloon is closed, all of these 
liquor dealers will be financially embarrassed, and a 
panic would result on account of so many people being 
thrown out of work. Besides that, if these places were 
closed, the property owners would lose thousands of 
dollars, for who could afford to rent the fine stores 
where the saloons have been? There are no other men 
who would pay the rent that liquor dealers pay. Then 
there is another point. Before long Chicago is going 
to be the largest city in the world, and it should not be 
allowed to grow through the American people only, but 
through people of every nationality, of European coun- 
tries where temperance never has been known, and if 
these foreigners should happen to come to Chicago and 
find the city so dry they would not stay here, they 
cannot live, they can transact no business without their 
accustomed drinking, and that would cripple the growth 
and progress of the city, and I think this kind of talk 
to the ladies should make them considerate and keep 
their hands off the matter." 

"Your words are good, Captain, but let me tell you 
something about this question of the women applying 
to ministers for help. Those women are influential. 
Their word carries weight, not only with the ministers 
of the churches, but with other men who are business 
acquaintances of their husbands. They are conscien- 
tious in their work, they are cultivated women, and 
directors of women's organizations, and suffragettes, 
who claim the right of women to vote as well as men, 
48 



REMARKS TO CAPTAIN STREETER 

and they don't listen to anybody, and whenever they 
say the saloons must be closed and the workingman is 
to be driven out of it, they succeed in doing what they 
want." 

"You might think so, and they think so, but it is not 
so, and they don't listen to anybody, as you say, but 
they must listen to the ministers, and these ministers 
are the only ones who can give them the necessary lec- 
tures they deserve. The first thing to tell them would be 
that the saloonkeepers are not the men who build the 
sky-scrapers every year, and they don't make dollars 
by the millions, but the dressmakers and milliners do, 
and you women waste more money in a year in ugly 
hats and dress and false hair than the men spend in the 
saloons in five years, and the money the man spends 
in the saloons is for something necessary to him, but 
the money that is spent at milliners , and dressmakers' 
and manicure shops, is merely to cover the beauties of 
nature with foolish, stolen finery. They would also have 
to tell the women that if they want to claim the same 
rights as the men, 'you must join the fire department 
ot the police department, you must draw plans of twen- 
ty-story buildings, and build and complete them, you 
must build steamers and schooners, and be captains and 
sailors and go across the ocean in these ships, you must 
wire a city or a building with telegraph or telephone 
wires, underground and overhead or across the ocean, 
you must build railroad cars and railroad tracks and 
run them around the world and do a great many won- 
derful things that men do, and if you think you have 
brains enough and power to do anything that I have 
49 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

mentioned, then you have the right to vote, but not 
until then. And I am very positive that you cannot do 
any of that kind of work, as you have not the necessary 
brains and power to do that, and you know it, too, be- 
cause God didn't make you for such things, and so it 
would be better for you not to bother yourselves with 
them, but do what nature and God want you to do — 
stay at home most of the time and keep things in order, 
read histories and newspapers to learn what is going on 
in the world, play the piano, and take care of the babies 
and the husband. For the husband is made to work 
and to provide things for you, to make you happy. This 
is all the advice we can give you ladies, and please don't 
bother us any more.' " 

"Well, well, well, Master Captain Streeter. I think 
now I have a trap that will catch you." 

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean now to make some remarks to you on the 
things you have said to me in regard to religious mat- 
ters and the nature of things." 

"All right, I should like to hear your remarks." 

"You said that the laws of this world are all right, 
as well as its Creator, didn't you?" 

"I did, sir, say it was all right, and I repeat what 1 
said." 

"Also you say God never makes any mistakes, nor 
does any wrong?" 

"Yes, sir, I do say all that." 

"And you say that woman has not the strong brain 
of man. Is that woman's fault, or God's fault ?" 

"It was neither woman's fault nor God's fault. God 
50 



REMARKS TO CAPTAIN STREETER 

gave brains to man according to the work he has to 
perform in life, and He also gave to woman under- 
standing sufficient for her sphere of usefulness and for 
her best happiness." 

"You say, moreover, that the women must stay at 
home and take care of the home and her children? You 
said so?" 

"Yes, that is what I said." 

"And you said that the man must provide for the 
woman ?" 

"Yes, I did." 

"But you did not say for the women." 

"No, I did not." 

"Oh, that is where I catch you, and prove to you 
that either God or Nature makes some mistakes. You 
will find out that God makes mistakes, after all, Mr. 
Captain." 

"Well, Mr. Doctor, I declare to you — and can prove 
it to you — that the work of God is without fault, and 
that is all I can tell you." 

"I know that is all you can tell me, but let me show 
you what wrong God and Nature have done. It is 
something you have never thought of. You say that a 
man must take care of one woman, but that he may not 
take care of many women. You say that the woman 
must stay at home and take care of that home and her 
children. Now, who is going to provide for the women 
who have no husbands and no homes? That is what 
drives women to the workshop and into the streets — 
and is she to blame? Has anyone the right to point 
the finger of scorn at those beautiful unfortunate crea- 
51 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

tures who are the victims of Providence? Don't you 
think there is a mistake somewhere when delicate wo- 
men are thrown upon the resources of the world, bereft 
of their rightful inheritance, of husband and home? 
Give me an answer to this question, Captain — is every- 
thing all right?" 

"Read this article that was published in the little edi- 
torial of the 'Chicago American' March 19th, 1910." 

"Let me read it to you, Captain." 

A MOTHER'S PROBLEM. 
Editor Chicago American: 

Dear Sir : — A happy matron in Hyde Park recently an- 
nounced the birth of a tenth daughter. Statistics show that 
females are in the ascendency ; that, according to the daily birth 
rate, the number of girls is increasing. Now the question arises, 
where are we to find husbands for Margaret, Beatrice, Helene, 
Marie, Mary, Jane and Caroline ? The problem is a serious one 
— the question vital to every parent of a marriageable daughter. 
Already fond fathers are walking the floor o* nights hunting 
for a solution, while dear mamma is showing new wrinkles each 
day in her efforts to grapple with the knotty enigma. Others 
are battling with modistes, milliners, corsetteres, in a mad en- 
deavor to get to the other side, thinking they may pick up a 
Count, a Lord, or perchance some little Duke. Stranded though 
he may be, what's the difference? Angelina is "getting on," and 
a husband must be provided. Then again, Annette and Anabel 
have quietly crept out o' their teens, if the truth were but told, 
so they, too, hang in the balance. American men are all right, 
they will tell you, but they are abominably slow in leading up to 
the marriage altar. The foreign-born are taught to think of an 
"alliance" from babyhood up. It was at a friend's house that I 
had occasion to call one Sunday evening, where sat a pretty, 
interesting young woman, dejected and quite alone. "You will 
be getting married soon," I said, cheerfully as possible. "Not 
52 



HOW TO CONDUCT A CHURCH 

even a beau," was the regretful reply. This pictures the condi- 
tion in a hundred homes. Can you figure it out? 

Why don't the young men marry? 

Is sentiment a thing of the past? 

Are the words chivalry and gallantry obsolete? 

Why this wholesale indifference? 

Our stores, our factories, our offices are filled with splendid 
young women, just longing to be rocking the cradle, washing 
the dishes and waiting for Jack. To be called "bachelor girl" 
may sound nice, but to be mama'd by a couple of kiddies is the 
dream of the average woman. 

A MOTHER. 

"Doctor, don't get so excited, please, and don't read 
any more letters to me, and don't blame God or Nature. 
God, who makes Nature, has given to both man and wo- 
man power to discover a very simple secret of Nature 
that will settle this difficult problem. It was not the Di- 
vine intention to degrade women to the level of the brute. 
It is not God's fault that parents remain ignorant, and 
not Nature's fault that her laws are undiscovered for 
lack of observation. Parents who are poor and unable 
themselves to provide for girls should bring boys into 
their families, and it should be the pride of the father, 
the son and the brother, that no woman of the family is 
compelled to earn her daily bread. That is the answer 
I give you, Doctor." 

"Well, Captain Streeter, that is wonderful and un- 
expected, and I am doubtful that you have proof suffi- 
cient to induce me to believe it." 

"Then it is not necessary to talk if you don't believe 
what I say, and I consider what you have said almost 
an insult." 

"I beg your pardon, I don't mean to insult you, but 
53 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

such a thing is so incomprehensible to my mind that it 
is difficult for me to believe it. It seems marvellous 
that such a truth could have been hidden all through 
the years, when philosophers, able to chain the lightning 
and drive thought through space, prophets and fortune 
tellers, with clairvoyant vision, scientists and other wise 
men have discovered other most wonderful facts about 
Nature ; and you are an ordinary navigator, with a poor 
education, as you say, and discover that mysterious 
secret of Nature — it is wonderful to me, and that made 
me make that remark to you, but I didn't mean to in- 
sult you." 

"Very well, I forgive you, as you don't know any 
better, but you must remember as I explain, that I will 
not remain very long in t'lis world, and would not tell 
you any lies." 

"But let me tell you something, Captain. As you say, 
you have not very long to remain in this world. You 
say that you have in your mind the important knowledge 
of Nature — that simple secret. If you have that secret 
and do not give it to the world, you commit a wrong. 
Do you realize that?" 

"Yes, indeed, that is what I myself think, but how 
can I give up the secret now?" 

"Well, as I happen to be here tonight, you may tell 
it to me, and I will give it to the world, from you." 

"Very well, but suppose I tell it to you, how are you 
going to publish it to the world ? Are you going to put 
it in the newspapers?" 

"OH, NO, I AM GOING TO AIAKE SOME 
MONEY OUT OF IT." 

54 



CAPTAIN STREETER'S EXPERIENCE 

"Oh, that is your idea ! How are you going to make 
that money?' 

"Well, I may write a book WITH SOME OTHER 
STORIES IN IT, and I can sell it at the marriage li- 
cense offices in the city, and all over the country.'' 

"Well, and then you are going to be a monopolist and 
grafter, are you?" 

"Oh, no, there is no graft about it." 

"What is it then ?" 

"Well, I may call it honest, useful, satisfactory busi- 
ness, for any man would pay twenty-five cents, or fifty 
cents or a dollar for such a valuable book; you must 
know, Captain, that there is many a rich man in the 
world willing to pay $10,000 for a male child to inherit 
his wealth, and one dollar for such information is noth- 
ing, to anybody. Even a workingman would be pleased 
to pay one dollar to have such valuable information in 
his home forever." 

"Oh, yes, I see your idea; But I must ask you an- 
other question. Suppose everybody is of the same 
opinion — that is, that all fathers and mothers want only 
sons. What will happen then? Maybe the good God 
will punish us for making this discovery." 

"Oh, no, there is no danger of that, for as long as 
the people have knowledge of this fact, girls will appear 
at any time that is all right that they should, and I will 
tell you, Captain, what will be the result in ten years 
from now. Now, listen — as soon as the people are in a 
position to understand the secret of Nature, very few 
girls would appear in the world, and so all the old maids 
would have a chance to get married. This is one of the 
55 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF XATURE 

good things. Then, none of those few girls who appear 
in the world will walk about the streets looking for 
work, but they will be brought up with entirely different 
manners than at the present time, and before they grad- 
uate from school the parents will have many applicants 
for their daughters' hands. In this way girls will be 
spared working away from their own homes. They will 
not fill the restaurants, hotels and factories, and they 
will not have the temptations and exposures that teach 
them so many things that they now learn. But they 
will learn housekeeping, and will do the things they 
should do, and they will have good manners, and they 
will love their husbands when they get married, and not 
neglect them, as so many young wives do at present, 
and the husbands will appreciate their good wives, and 
both will live happily together as God wants people to 
live." 

"I think your idea is good, Doctor, but let us discuss 
the first subject. Suppose you succeed in this enter- 
prise and make some money, what do you intend to do 
with that money? Are you going to leave it in this 
world, or are you going to take it to the next world?" 

"Well, Captain, I have all of your ideas printed in 
my brains, and I know exactly what I am going to do 
with them." 

"But I must tell you that I think the first thing to 
do with the money so obtained would be to build a 
church. Will you do this?" 

"I will." 

"Not a business church, but a real Christian church?" 

"Yes." 

56 



CAPTAIN STREETER'S EXPERIENCE 

"You won't tax anyone who enters, and you will not 
g-o about for money with a basket?" 

"No." 

"You won't charge anything to anybody who comes 
to baptize a child, or to anyone who comes to the church 
to get married ?" 

"No." 

"You will not allow an unmarried priest to serve in 
that church?" 

"No." 

"You will not allow any choir girls whatever in that 
church?" 

"No." 

"You will not mix men and women, but will keep them 
separate, in their own assigned departments?" 

"I will do that." 

"You will not permit children in arms to cry and thus 
annoy the worshippers, or little ones to use the church 
as a playground, as they do in some Christian churches 
that I know in Chicago?" 

"No, I will not permit such things." 

"You will not allow any reception room, or any other 
kind of private room whatever, in this church?" 

"No, sir." 

"You will not fail to have portraits of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, from the first day He came into the world until 
the day of His ascension, and of His Mother, Mary 
Virgin, and all His disciples, and His Father, the Crea- 
tor of the world — above the altar? And you won't for- 
get that the priest must be a man of high education 
and with Christianity in his heart, to teach the Gospel 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

to the people, and some facts of the next world as he 
knows them — you will remember all this, Doctor?" 

"I remember all that you tell me, and I will try to 
have a good Christian priest, of high education, to 
teach the Gospel ; but I am not sure I will be able to 
find one who can tell the people for a surety anything 
about the next world. I heard you say something 
about the next world, but I know of no one else who 
has your ideas, and how can I tell whether your ideas 
are right or wrong? I am sure I cannot find a priest 
who can give lectures on the next world." 

"Well, if you can find one, it is all right, and, of 
course, if you cannot find one, that is not your fault. 
Do all you can, and if you make any money, with which 
to build this ideal church, you know my ideas on the 
subject — do as I have told you — that is all .1 can say." 

"All right, Captain, I will do my best, and I hope I 
shall make some money. I will pay heed to your words, 
doing as you say, and if it will not trouble you very 
much, I should like to have the benefit of some of your 
ideas in regard to the next world. Just for my own 
satisfaction I should like to see if my ideas agree with 
yours. I have never heard anyone's opinion about it, 
and I am interested to know what you think." 

"Doctor, if you really want to know something about 
the next world, you must first let me tell you of my ex- 
perience in this world. Now, the very first thing to tell 
you is that I am one of the most uneducated men you 
ever talked to. I have never read history — not of any 
country. I have never in my life had any religious in- 
struction, nor any political instruction. My earliest 
58 



ABOUT HEAVEN AND HELL 

days were spent on the sea, which made it impossible 
for me to have any advantages of learning. The little 
I know I learned at sea, or in a few lessons in the navy 
yard at the navigation schools. I have traveled a great 
deal — around' the world — and I have seen much of the 
earth's movements. I have read a little of the teachings 
of Jesus Christ, and I have talked a little with spiritual- 
ists, the religious sect that believe they can talk to de- 
parted spirits. I have seen wonderful visions in my 
dreams, and whatever should happen to me — good or 
bad — I have expected before it came to me. I use my 
brains, and now I study all the time. The most wonder- 
ful thing in all my makeup is my brains, and I must 
use them. I think. When I think of this great body, 
the earth, revolving round and round, without any sup- 
port, any foundation, I wonder if I ever will be able to 
tell who was the originator of it all. I wonder who is 
the conductor of this blessed earth, and I puzzle my 
brains, and I cannot find out. I think of the living 
things, big and little, of the phenomena on land and on 
sea, from the monsters of the seas to the little insects on 
land, and then I think of the most powerful and wonder- 
ful of them all — man, little man. Of one thing I am 
sure, and that is that this little man is dearer to the 
Creator than anything else of all His handiwork, and I 
know that He has given to this little man tremendous 
power — in his heart and in his brain. All other wills 
must submit to man's will. Man has the lesser things in 
his control, and everything on this earth belongs to 
him. God has blessed man and enabled him to do mar- 
vellous things, using his brains and his hands. God has 
59 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

also blessed the earth and made it produce enormously. 
For the benefit of man the earth brings the delicious 
fruits and vegetables and many other products of land 
and sea for him to eat, as well as useful things for him 
to use in manufacture. God has given to man the things 
that will make him happy on the earth. He has given to 
man himself a spirit, a soul, so that when life is over 
and the man's body has returned to the dust, his spirit 
and soul may drift into the life beyond, to carry on its 
work of development and evolution. And yet, with 
all this blessing from God, man does not always make 
the best use of his precious faculties. The Creator of 
the earth is called God, as we all know. Now God 
taught this dear being, man, to behave himself that he 
might not do anything disobedient to His grave com- 
mands, but man didn't heed. Then God, loving man 
more than any other thing He had created, sent an- 
other power from Heaven. Through the power of 
God there was born of woman, Mary Virgin, a Man 
who called himself the Son of God. This Man re- 
mained on earth thirty-three years, and He performed 
miracles, and did wonderful things that no other living 
man was ever able to do. He taught the Gospel, and 
tried to make the people understand that He was the 
Son of God, as He was the Son of God, and the un- 
believers crucified Him. But the third day He rose — 
not only His spirit, but His body. Then He remained 
on earth another fifty days and showed himself to His 
disciples and to all who believed on Him, just as He 
was on earth before His crucifixion, and on the Day 
of Pentecost He disappeared into Heaven, to His 
60 



ABOUT HEAVEN AND HELL 

Father, the Creator of this planet, and will return again 
to earth, as He said, to judge the 'quick and the dead.' 
And He is here with us, though invisible, and His court 
is always open and in session, and He is the conductor 
of this planet, and He knows exactly how we travel and 
how we act. And the most attractive people to Him 
are the philosophers of this day, and the professors all 
over the world (the so-called 'big-heads'). These men 
are predicting the appearance of comets, floods, erup- 
tion of the earth, the earthquakes, and these fools don't 
stop to think who is doing all this. They conduct public 
schools all over the world, and none of then teach re- 
ligious matters to the children, when they know that 
the youngsters' brains are like little blank books, and 
whatever they teach them becomes indelibly printed in 
the brains of the children. But the children of this age 
are not receiving any religious instruction, no religious 
printing in their hearts, but the main thing taught to 
them is in business methods and learning, and they are 
responsible for the crimes that are being committed 
all over the world in these present days. That is what 
I experience, and see about me." 

-"Well, Captain, I did not ask you to tell me your own 
story and what you experience, as I know all that my- 
self. What I ask you is to tell me your idea about the 
next world that you talk about." 

"Doctor, let me tell you ; it is impossible for anybody 
to tell you exactly what the next world will be like, but 
if you exercise your brains you will probably find out 
yourself pretty near what I have found out, and that is 
what we have heard some such men say (when you are 

61 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

dead, you will be a long time dead.) I don't believe 
that, but I believe that when you are dead your body, of 
course, is dead and turns to dust, but your spirit is never 
put into the grave ; it is held in the air, as the earth 
is held, and the smoke when the wind doesn't blow. 
Heaven is from horizon to horizon where the sun al- 
ways shines, and the spirit in Heaven is in touch with all 
on earth, and can travel the same as your brain travels 
all over land and sea to every city, town and village, 
and can see the moon close, and the other planets and 
all the nearest stars to the earth's limit. This glorious 
Heaven they can enjoy from the day after they die to 
the end of the world. Now, let me tell you where I 
think hell is. Hell is under the earth from sunset to 
sunrise, and when any unfortunate spirit has been or- 
dered to hell, it will be limited to traveling cer- 
tain distances, always in darkness. No daylight, no 
electric light, no gas light, no candle light — no light 
whatsoever — and the only thing he can see is the earth 
passing and speeding above him all in the darkness of 
night when all the doors of business are closed and 
the good people are asleep in their homes ; and when 
once in twenty-four hours his own city passes by he is 
able to travel with the earth for a few hours, and all 
that is going on in his home, all is known to him, and 
if his family are in trouble or in sorrow, it rends his 
heart, and he so impresses them with his nearness and 
his presence that their spirits see him and the power 
of the mind brings the knowledge to them in a dream. 
Suddenly he finds himself at the limit of his freedom — 
they pass on, he returns to his dark retreat, and that is 
62 



ABOUT HEAVEN AND HELL 

hell to him. Some may think this is not sufficient pun- 
ishment for the evil-doer and that there is something 
worse. It may be, but I don't know of it, and I don't 
believe it." 

"Well, Captain, you have given a good explanation 
of Heaven and hell, and you say that Heaven is the 
abode of the righteous and that hell is for sinners, don't 
you?" 

"Yes, that is what I believe." 

"But there is a certain class of people, in fact, the 
great mass of people, who live in this world, who are 
moderately bad. They never bother anybody, never do 
anything to benefit anybody, never believe anything, 
and never say anything against any religion. You have 
explained that after death the spirit must appear before 
the Heavenly Judge and be sentenced. What will be 
done with this class of spirits, Captain?" 

"Well, let me tell you about this class, for I have an 
example for you. Suppose an ignorant farmer comes 
to the city. He has never been there before, and he 
stands in the middle of the streets, and looks up at the 
buildings, and gets in the way of the cars and the 
people — now, an officer cannot lock him up for that, 
nor can he escort him to a hotel. The only thing he can 
do is to give him a good push and get him out of the 
way. So, when these spirits are brought before the 
bar of Heaven, they cannot be sentenced to hell, and 
they are not worthy of Heaven. Just get them out of the 
way — with a thunder blast blow them all up to smoke — 
that is all." 

"That is a very wise explanation, and a logical dispo- 
63 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

sition of that case, but there is another class of sinners 
still, and I am altogether puzzled as to what will become 
of them. I wonder if you would have an idea?" 

"Who are they, anyhow?" 

"Well, one man steals his neighbor's chickens and 
another climbs up the neighbor's porch, gets into his 
room, kills him and takes all his valuables. Both are 
sinners, are they not? But they don't belong to the 
same class nor deserve the same punishment. You say 
hell is under the earth — darkness ; are they both sent to 
this same dark place?" 

"Oh, no, they don't get the same punishment — that 
would be less justice than we get here on earth. We 
would send one man to the bridewell, and another to the 
penitentiary. You, of course, know that this earth is 
measured and divided into small sections — north, south, 
east and west — and geographical descriptions enable us 
to locate and name every small section. If the brain of 
man can do this, how much more can God do who gave 
us this intelligence ! So, under the earth, in the dark- 
ness, all is divided into small sections as our earth is. 
Now, you know when the sun sets we have no sunlight, 
but we do have daylight — that is the first section. An 
hour later it is getting dark, and that is the second 
section, and gradually it is getting darker and darker, 
till midnight, when we have pitch darkness — that is the 
center of hell, where there is 'weeping and gnashing of 
teeth' — the place where will be found the greatest num- 
ber of criminals in the sight of God, and many who are 
looked up to here because of their money-getting facul- 
ty, but whose greed, avarice, and selfish desires put 
64 



ABOUT HEAVEN AND HELL 

galling chains upon God's poor, take from them the 
benefits that life should bring to them, and break the 
hearts of His 'little ones.' I think many of this class 
of tyrants will find there tenfold greater suffering than 
they have meted out to others here, for they are re- 
sponsible, not only for the misery they bring, but for 
what those other lives would have been but for the 
crimes committed against them. Every cry wrung from 
the heart of man by oppression or crime is registered as 
a charge or a debt to be paid. God does not make the 
charge. These charges are made by the victims of the 
wrong-doer, but He sits in judgment, and there is no 
evading His edict. Every debt shall be paid 'to the 
utmost farthing/ and everyone shall be judged 'accord- 
ing to the deed done in the body.' If his good deeds 
will not pay for his bad deeds, he is bankrupt and must 
work out his sentence." 

"Captain, allow me to ask you a question. I think 
you know that all the outlaws who commit all kinds of 
crimes, as well as those murders, before they are hung 
on that last day of their lives on earth, have a visit from 
a priest or religious father of some kind, to whom they 
confess their sins, telling of the crimes they have com- 
mitted, and this holy father administers the sacrament 
of forgiveness to them, and says to them, as Jesus Christ 
said to His disciples: 'Whatsoever you shall loose upon 
earth shall be loosed also in heaven.' Don't you think 
they should enjoy the glories of Heaven?" 

"No, no, no — that doesn't work. That would be 
nothing but a counterfeit ticket." 

"How is that?" 

65 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

"Jesus Christ instructed them plainly. He gave them 
clearly to understand their duty. He said that if a 
man commit a crime and then ask for forgiveness, he 
would first have to settle with his victim — that is, get 
forgiveness from him. Then, when this was granted 
the sacrament of forgiveness should be administered. 
Before this communion should be administered, how- 
ever, they would have to call together the relatives of 
the victim — his entire family, and he should be told to 
implore for forgiveness of them, and if they should 
grant it he could have the communion ; if not, the Lord 
Jesus Christ would have to punish that brute and cast 
him into the darkness of hell, there to remain forever 
and forever." 

"I am sure you are right on that question, but I have 
still another to ask. In one of His parables, Jesus said 
that no man can live in the world and be without sin. 
And yet He said that no sin was left unpardoned. Now, 
suppose a man has killed another man, seized all his 
property. Suppose, moreover, he killed, not only the 
man, but all of his family. We will still further suppose 
that he was not seen by any eye, and yet, in his own 
remorse he would go to his spiritual adviser and say, 
'Father, I have committed a great sin. I killed a man 
and broke the hearts of his family. I repent for my 
terrible misdeed, and I have come now to ask your 
forgiveness.' Now, since Jesus Christ says that no sin 
is unforgiven, what can the minister do? Suppose the 
minister should say to the man, 'Go and ask forgiveness 
of his family,' should the man freely give himself up to 
66 



ABOUT HEAVEN AND HELL 

be sentenced to. the penitentiary? ■•Now, I want to have 
you answer me about that." 

"Well, his spiritual father should have great wisdom 
so as to deal with such cases. He should say to the 
guilty man, 'The only thing for you to do now is to go 
to the family of the murdered man and tell them, of your 
own volition, that you are sorry for the fearful trouble 
they have. Tell them that you had some dealings with 
their lost one, that you owed money to him, that you 
offered him part of it, telling him that was all you could 
spare then, but that you would give the rest to him later 
on. Tell them, too, that since you were not able to 
carry out this determinaton on your part, you will give 
to them the money you owed to your victim. If you 
do this, making full confession and reparation, they will 
forgive you, and you will remember to the last day of 
your life that you confessed all to them. So, if they 
forgive you, the spirit of your victim will not be drag- 
ging you before the court of Heaven. ,, 

"Ah, that would be a good way to deal with such a 
crime. Nevertheless, there is more still to the question. 
We will suppose again that a man kill another man — not 
for his property, and yet the victim was a rich man and 
his family did not need any money. Would there be 
any other way for the criminal to be forgiven?" 

"If a man commit a murder through no mercenary 
motive, but because that man had done him a wrong 
and he was avenging himself for that wrong, and if he 
had been seen by no mortal eye, he should seek some 
religious father and confess his crime to him. The mur- 
derer should say to this man, 'Father, I have come to 
67 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

you to confess my dreadful guilt. I have killed a man 
and am not worthy to partake of the holy communion. 
I have come to implore you to intercede for me with the 
Heavenly Father that He may forgive me and when my 
life here is over and I go to the world beyond, the 
Heavenly Judge can do with me as He deems just. If 
He forgive me, I will be grateful to Him, and if He 
should cast me into the darkness of hell — why, I should 
have to stand it — that's all/ Well, the Lord might for- 
give such a man." 

"What makes you think so, Captain ; that the Lord 
forgives murderers?" 

"Because the victim would have no chance to drag his 
murderer before the Heavenly court, probably he had 
done something worse to that murderer in this world — 
that is all, and you must know that Jesus Christ himself 
kills and destroys people and property very often when 
He is not able to stand longer the awful crimes of the 
people." 

"Well, well, I have not any idea how people are killed 
by Christ." 

"No, really?" 

"No, indeed, I do not know." 

"Don't you read the daily papers, and notice the 
many deaths, supposedly from accidents ?" 

"I read the papers, and I see accounts of many acci- 
dents, but I don't believe Christ knows of these things." 

"Well, Doctor, there are many, many small accidents, 

of course, that are utterly unknown to Him. God 

knows the men and women who have faith in Him, anil 

He will protect them from harm. But I am sure that 

68 



SACRILEGIOUS GREEKS AND ITALIANS 

He orders all the very great calamities — He does it for 
punishment of a sinful world. You surely believe, 
Doctor, that the Lord can read the innermost thought 
of man, and if He can see into the heart of man, He 
surely can know of the great accidents. Now, these 
accidents happen with various results. Some people 
are killed instantly, some mortally wounded, some in- 
jured for life, others escape with small injuries, while 
still others are saved unharmed. Now, among all these 
people some have sinned against God's law, others will 
surely do so, and others intend to do so. Now, you 
see for a time the Lord spares these people, but when 
they sin again and again He must punish them for their 
heedlessness and their wilfulness and so He sends ter- 
rible accidents to destroy and hurt them." 

"My gracious ! Then you really believe the great 
earthquake of San Francisco was done with His knowl- 
edge?" 

"Certainly it was. Think a minute. That earthquake 
occurred right in the midst of a thickly populated city — 
not way off in the country where there were but few 
people." 

"Well, and you think the earthquake in Italy was done 
with His knowledge, too?" 

"I certainly do, and moreover I am astonished that 
He did not cause it to shake all Italy." 

"How is that, Captain? Surely you are mistaken 
about that." 

"Why do you think I am mistaken? What do you 
know about it?" 

69 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

"I know a little myself, too ; do not think you know 
it all." 

"Well, what do you know, anyway?" 

"Well, for one thing I know that the Roman Catholics 
were the first believers in Jesus Christ. Then I know- 
that in Italy dwells the Pope, our representative of St. 
Peter, and that he is the head of all the Catholic churches 
in the world. I know, moreover, that the Roman Catho- 
lics and the Greek Catholics are real Christians, and 
the people that our Lord loves. There, that is what I 
know." 

"Suppose they are real Christians. Do you know 
that Jesus Christ likes them any better than any other 
Christians?" 

"He ought to." 

"He ought to, eh ? And if I tell you that Jesus Christ 
loves the Jews more than the Greeks and Italians, would 
you believe me?" 

"I wouldn't commit myself on that point — whether 
I believe or do not believe — if you could not prove it 
to me." 

"I will prove it to you. We all know that the Jews 
crucified Jesus Christ nearly 1910 years ago, and that the 
Jewish nation do not believe on Him. Neither do they 
curse the name of Jesus and abuse and insult Him with 
blasphemous language. But I can tell you that the 
Italians and Greeks who call themselves orthodox 
Christians and believe in Christ are uttering these blas- 
phemies all the time. We can hear these vile utter- 
ances — not alone about Jesus Christ himself, but His 
Father and Mother and the Cross. If these people have 
70 



SACRILEGIOUS GREEKS AND ITALIANS 

'even the slightest controversy, the first thing that comes 
to their lips is an oath, and it seems only too natural 
for them to say one or more of the following expres- 
sions : 

"Sacramento de deo — he curses the sacred body of 
God. 

"Porco dea — God is a pig. 

"Maladeto Jesus Cristo — Jesus Christ is bad. 

"Maladeto beonono — the Pope is bad. 

"Porka Madonna — the Mother of the Saviour is a 
sow. 

"Pootana Madonna — the Mother of the Saviour is a 
prostitute. 

"This is the way the Italians use the names of the 
Holy Family, Doctor. Now, I will tell you something 
about the other old Greek Catholics, the first believers 
of Jesus Christ. They also are profane, even in very 
small matters that make them lose their tempers — the 
Cross, Jesus Christ, Saint Mary, God himself, and any 
saint that happens to come to their minds. But they 
do it in a terrible way — too bad for me to tell. So, 
now, Doctor, my question to you is, Tf any of these 
irreverent Italians should call your father a pig, your 
mother a sow and a prostitute, and if he should call you 
a bad man, what would you do to him ?' " 

"Captain, I tell you — if any of them should dare to 
address me or any of my family in such language, I 
should strike him in the eye and I would break every 
bone of his body. If he should be out of my reach, so 
that I could not lay hands on him, then I should throw 
dynamite at him." 

71 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

"Well, then, how can you blame Jesus Christ for 
dynamiting them over there in Italy?" 

"I don't blame Him, and if they do use such terrible 
oaths and curses as you say, I am surprised that He 
doesn't shake their entire country with an earthquake. 
I would like to know if the Pope knows all about it." 

"I am sure I don't know whether he knows or not, 
but suppose he does know — what can he do?" 

"Do you ask what he can do? He could stop them 
if he wanted to." 

"How?" 

"He could beg assistance from the man at the head 
of the nation. The pope could send out priests and 
monks armed with clubs and whips, and if any of these 
messengers should hear the name of Christ or God or 
Saint Mary uttered sacrilegiously, he should strike him 
with his club or his whip and so punish him for such 
blasphemy. I am sure, with such procedure, this evil 
could be stopped in a short time, and I don't blame you 
for saying that Christ probably likes the Jews better than 
the Greek and the Roman Catholics, and I thought all 
the time that you were Catholic, too." 

"Yes, sir, I am a Catholic, and I don't deny it. I 
was born a Catholic, and I shall stay Catholic even if 
I should be tortured for it as the saints were, and I 
should endure it, but I would never change my re- 
ligion." 

"Oh, I see; and you believe in saints, too?" 

"Certainly, why not?" 

"Because most of the Christians of this country don't 
72 



PROOFS OF SAINTHOOD 

believe in them, and even don't speak of them in their 
churches." 

"I don't care whether they believe in them or not. 
I have brains of my own, and I can use them, and I do 
my duty." 

"But, let me ask you a question, Captain ; have there 
been any changes in the Catholic religion from the 
olden times to this day?" 

"No, sir, not at all." 

"Then, from the time of the discovery of this country 
Catholics have always been in this country; but we 
haven't seen any of them become saints, and that is the 
reason why most of the American people do not believe 
in them." 

"Very well, sir ; but the first ruler of this country was 
GEORGE WASHINGTON, and not Arios, nor Nero 
Trayanos, nor Maximilian, nor Diocletian. Those em- 
perors were tyrants who had the law in their own hands, 
and tortured anyone who preached the Gospel and 
Christianity and all those martyrs who suffered death 
and became saints. This was from 200 to 400 years 
after Christ until Constantine the Great, and since that 
time no One has ever become a saint, neither in the Old 
Country nor in this country, and you must know. Doc- 
tor, that no man will become a saint after he has died 
a natural death, and I can give you a better explanation 
of how these holy men became saints. Now, listen : 
Whenever a saint was found, it was well known who he 
was and how he had died, and this was generally the 
way — He was a martyr because of his religion. He 
was put to death by means of the greatest torture. This 
7$ 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

was done in the olden times by those unbelievers of 
Christianity that I mentioned, and many Christian 
heroes have suffered a pitiful and cruel death because 
they have been brave enough to declare their belief in 
Christ and God. Now, the reward of such a man was that 
after his cruel and bitter death his spirit refused the 
glorious place in Heaven that was offered it, but it 
entered right back into the body of the poor victim — 
after death, and that is why the martyr's body was 
protected and never permitted to decay. Years after- 
ward the body was found, recognized as that of a saint, 
brought to the church and kept there. This is plain to un- 
derstand if a man will but use his brains. The saint is only 
a dead body, that cannot speak, and has not lost its 
form after death, but his spirit is always in him for help 
— whether it be that he is in danger or sickness or want. 
He is able to intercede for you with God. Let me men- 
tion one of those holy saints whom I have seen with my 
own eyes, and who I know has performed great miracles. 
This saint is in Greece, SAINT SPERIDEON. He was 
a Bishop of Cyprus, and lived over 1500 years ago, suf- 
fering dreadful torture and death at the hands of the 
Emperor Diocletian. His body was taken to Constanti- 
nople, where it remained until the year 1489. It is now 
on the Island of Corfu, and I know that this saint has 
performed wonderful miracles. When I think of a man 
living 350 years in the grave, and over 1200 years in 
his church, always in the same well preserved condition, 
that is sufficient to induce me to believe in saints. And 
if you don't believe in them, they won't bother you, pro- 
vided you will not go there and say something against 
74 



PROOFS OF SAINTHOOD 

them, but if you do that, we shall surely see another 
miracle." 

"Captain, you have given me sufficient proof about 
the holy saints, and I am confident that you are right 
about them, but I hear that some Catholics believe that 
portraits or pictures of saints perform miracles. You 
don't want me to believe in pictures, do you?" 

"What do you mean by pictures ?" 

"I mean that some people believe that miracles are 
worked through prayer to pictures. Now, I don't be- 
lieve that, because these pictures are no more nor less 
than paintings on canvas and wood, and to worship them 
would be like the people of olden times, long before 
Christ, who bowed down to idols of wood and stone. 
You don't think I am going to be so foolish as that, 
do you ?" 

"No, indeed, I do not advise you to be an idolator, 
and I cannot blame you for your opinion, for I used 
to think that way myself. But I set to work and did 
a great deal of thinking, and now 1 think I have found 
out how the portraits of saints perform miracles. Let 
me explain it to you. We will suppose an association 
or brotherhood decides to build a church. They get 
all the plans and the size of all the portraits they need, 
and then they give the order to some artist, with in- 
structions to draw the picture of the patron saint, who- 
ever he may be, with special care to produce as far as 
possible an exact likeness of the saint. Now, it happens 
that this artist is a very religious man, and he works 
with all his might and skill, but when at last the picture 
is finished he is not satisfied with the result. He has 
75 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

failed to produce the likeness. He tries again with all 
the power of his brain and hand, and still he is not 
satisfied. He realizes the limit of his power, and in 
desperation he prays to the saint to help him, to give 
power to his hand, strength to his brain, and ability to 
finish it perfectly. The fervor of his appeal gains the 
attention of the holy spirit of the saint, and his prayer is 
heard and answered. He takes up his work again, calm 
and strong, with renewed strength, and when the picture 
is finished this time, the artist views his work, and he 
beholds it with a feeling of satisfaction and gratitude. 
The likeness is true, and even beyond his ambition. He 
realizes, however, that the work is not his own, but 
that of the angel saint, and when the picture is placed in 
the church, the spirit still hovers over it — is in a way 
incarnate in it — and when any mortal afflicted with an 
incurable disease prays in good faith to the saint here 
portrayed, the earnest prayer of the unfortunate man is 
heard and answered. He goes forth rejoicing, declaring 
that a miracle has been wrought. Yes, and a miracle 
has been wrought, in very truth, a prayer answered, 
but by the Divine Spirit, for no miracle was ever per- 
formed by a picture of paint and canvas and wood, the 
product of an overworked artist who paints for his daily 
bread. The Spirit who gave the answer to the prayer 
was there, but invisible. Do you understand now, 
Doctor?" 

"Well, if anyone should be in trouble — sick and suf- 
fering — it would not be necessary to go to a doctor, 
but if he should visit the church and pray to the saint, 
he would be relieved." 

76 



MYSTERIOUS SECRET OF NATURE 

"Oh, no, indeed — not everyone that should go to that 
church would be heard and cured." 

"Why not?" 

"Because these heavenly spirits know the heart of the 
mortal better than we do. Suppose he is a swindler, a 
robber, or has broken the heart of a friend, or burned 
the property of an'other, and God visits upon him a cer- 
tain misfortune as a punishment for his crime, or if he 
should have lived in the neighborhood of that church 
for years and never went there to thank God for the 
good things of life or to show respect in any way for 
God or the church when in health — such a person 
never would be cured, even though he should pray 
unceasingly in the church. Now, you have my opinion 
on the subject. Oh, dear, I have talked a great deal 
tonight, and it has given me a headache." 

"Captain, I fear I have caused you this headache, 
asking so many questions. I am very happy at all I 
have learned from your answers and explanations, and 
yet you have left one thing a mystery to me." 

"Well, again, what is it?" 

"You promised to tell me the simple secret of nature, 
don't you remember?" 

"Oh, yes, yes ! And to think I had forgotten all about 
that in the interest of our other conversation. We must 
not forget that. Come over and sit by me. Have you 
some paper and a red pencil?" 

"Yes." 

"Now, Doctor, first of all, by order of God every 
woman in the world is exactly the same as every other 
woman — that is, every woman is physically formed 
77 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

to produce children, as many as she wants to, and male 
and female as she may direct if she knows the methods 
of nature. That has been hidden from the knowledge 
of people generally, however, but we who know the 
secret must give it to the world that everybody may 
understand it and benefit by it. Listen, Doctor, the 
number of days for the processes of»nature are thirty, 
and of those thirty days ten are uncounted — the first 
five days and the last five also. A child formed during 
the first ten days following the uncounted five would 
be a female ; one conceived during the next ten days 
would be a male. I can illustrate this by drawing a 
diagram. I make a circle, indicate the secretion of the 
periodical position of the nature, and the cause for a 
male or a female child being created. Now, Doctor, 
look here — notice how I mark the circle. I have di- 
vided it into thirty days, showing the gradual changes 
in the secretion from the first day. .The first five days 
I mark with red, gradually reducing the color to the 
fifth day. I leave the sixth day entirely clear. If a 
child is conceived on the sixth day, no material is there 
to nourish the little creature, but it will have to wait to 
grow slowly as fresh material comes, and that shows 
plainly that woman is not as strong as man, and also 
shows why the woman is more beautiful than the man. 
The woman grows slowly and always with fresh ma- 
terial. Any child created on the seventh day will be a 
little stronger, for material has been provided for the 
growth of the little creature. On the eighth day it will 
be stronger and gay, the ninth day stronger and more 
intelligent, the tenth day — which we might call the 'gold- 
73 



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MYSTERIOUS SECRET OF NATURE 

en day* — brings to the world all the exceptionally good 
girls — those who are without fault — the eleventh day 
brings the lively, industrious girls, the twelfth the sensi- 
ble women of great ability, but the thirteenth brings 
those who think they know it all — the disagreeable, im- 
pudent and quarrelsome — and the fourteenth brings 
those with exaggerated ideas, who are sorry that they 
are women — the class from which the suffragettes come 
— but of the fifteenth day we can make no positive pre- 
diction ; the only thing we might say is, if a female child 
is conceived on the fifteenth day it will bear some of 
the marks of a man — hairs on the lips and chin, like a 
moustache or beard, and her features will be more of 
a masculine type, or, indeed, reproduction of life at this 
period may result in a hermaphrodite ; or, if it so hap- 
pen that a male child be produced, then he will be with- 
out masculine traits and effeminate. When the six- 
teenth day has come everything necessary to produce 
a male child is there, and it will develop as fast as nature 
will permit, and that is the reason men are always 
stronger than women — from their brains to their feet. 
He is created from ripe, plentiful, strong material. I 
can explain how children born of the same parents come 
to have widely different natures. This, as well as the 
sex, depends upon the day on which they were con- 
ceived. For instance, on the sixteenth day the boy is 
good-natured, intelligent and gay, the seventeenth with 
more power and intellect, the eighteenth, physically 
stronger and of sound health, the nineteenth, strong still 
and intellectually stronger, and the twentieth day brings 
into the world very exceptional men, men of wisdom 
81 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

and justice. Now, I don't mean to say that men born 
of poor and ignorant parents will be wonderful men if 
they are created on the twentieth day, but even under 
those circumstances they will be wiser and more useful 
than their parents. The twenty-first day produces a 
self-willed man child, very strong in character and able 
to attain much in life. The twenty-second day will pro- 
duce a man of fine physical appearance and qualities, 
and he will be keen and alert, observing everything and 
everybody. On the twenty-third day he will be stronger 
still, and inclined to be rough, and impudent. The 
twenty-fourth day will produce a man who will be 
stronger, stronger — ever gradually growing stronger — 
with keen intelligence, and yet very rough in manner, 
and selfish. The twenty-fifth, the limit is reached, for 
the man will develop after the nature of the parents. 
If they are rough in their nature, so will their son be — 
brutal, disagreeable, with no mercy for anyone ; but if 
the parents be good people, educated and of gentle 
manners, their son will likewise be a good, intelligent 
man, a man as high in type as can be developed. If he 
receives a first-class education, he will be able to make 
the most of it. Now, Doctor, having told you so much, 
I will still further describe the offspring of parents, 
their disposition, personal appearance, and other char- 
acteristics. You know that it is not an uncommon 
thing for twins to be born. If you have observed, it is 
true that almost always they are either both boys or 
both girls, very seldom one boy and one girl. Of 
course, according to my theory, these little creatures 
were conceived on the same day, as they were born on 
82 



MYSTERIOUS SECRET OF NATURE 

the same day. They look alike, and in almost every 
case they have the same strength, the same disposition, 
the same ideas, never disagreeing. Of course this bears 
out my theory. On the other hand, when twins happen 
to be a boy and a girl (which is unusual) we con- 
clude that these little ones have been conceived just at 
the crossing of nature, as one might say — as the sun 
crosses the line, so one of these little ones was created 
at the time of the crossing of nature — the two little 
ones just a few hours apart. The fifteenth day, there- 
fore, is/Very uncertain. We can prophecy with very 
little accuracy what will be the result of a creation that 
takes place on that day. And now we come to the ex- 
planation of the last five days. Doctor, think of it 
yourself. The twenty-sixth day the little creature in 
the mother's womb has been adding to its growth, gain- 
ing and assuming form. But there must be an end to 
this, for the time comes when it is impossible for the 
mother to bear it any longer, and the result will be that, 
while the little form within these walls cannot well 
take all the nourishment to itself, the supply must go 
out and with it the little creature will go too. It seems 
now as if I must have exhausted the subject, Doctor, 
and yet two more extraordinary facts exist in connection 
with this important discovery, and I will still further 
explain to you ; this told, nothing remains unexplained 
concerning this secret of nature. We will take a case 
of very strong, healthy parents. We suppose the child 
to be conceived on the twenty-sixth day. In four days 
the child will gain too much, and will not go out with the 
periodical change, but will remain in the mother's body 
83 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY- OF NATURE 

and continue to develop, assume definite shape, and so 
on to the birth. Now, if the mother should keep account 
of the days, she must naturally look for a little girl baby, 
but, behold, a male child is born. In such a case the 
mother will naturally think my theory a failure, but it 
is not, and we can explain it in this way : In such a case 
the birth will be premature — perhaps ten or fifteen days 
too soon, and the child who came into the world under 
such circumstances will be a very deceitful man. His 
good appearance will deceive women mostly, and we 
make in this case a comparison with the buildings that 
are beautiful and ornamental on the outside, but are 
unsightly within. Then there is another extraordinary 
case of nature, and that happens to the aged woman 
when the menstruation is delayed ten or fifteen days, 
and it happens that conception takes place at this late 
day, but it would be better for that mother not to have 
a child, as it will be a great deal of trouble and pain to 
her, for he will have an inferior nature that will in all 
probability cause him to be perhaps what we call 'the 
black sheep of the family', and that is all about the dis- 
covery of Nature's secret." 

"Captain, I would like to ask you a question. Sup- 
pose I were to prepare a book containing all the de- 
tails of the secret you have imparted to me ; do you 
think the people would believe it?" 

"Well, let me tell you, if any of those scientists who 
have gone into research and sought to discover this 
secret should see the explanation in print, they will be- 
lieve it ; but the rest of the people will probably have 
no faith in it — not at first. You will even find some 
84 



MYSTERIOUS SECRET OF NATURE 

ignorant ones who never have exercised their brains, 
and as soon as they read about it, they will say, scoffing- 
ly, 'Well, how in blazes could he find out? How does 
he know it?' To such as these it would be well to 
give an example or point to a parallel. Tell them to 
go to the cornfield and pull up a cornstalk and rip off 
all the leaves, then cut the stalk in thirty equal pieces. 
They will find that the first piece is very tender and will 
break easily ; the second piece is a little harder and the 
third still harder, and so on. One can break the first 
fifteen pieces, but not the rest. On those one must use 
a knife and to cut the last two portions, near the root, 
the knife must be very sharp. And that is how it is in 
human nature : at the one end is the delicate girl ; at 
the other the tough man. 

"But here is another example : One who is in doubt 
can take a piece of asparagus ; one end he will find very 
tender ; he can break the stalk as far down as the middle ; 
then it bends without breaking, while at the lower end 
it is just as hard as wood. Again, compare that with 
human nature ; at the one end is the pretty girl ; at the 
other the ugly burglar. 

"There is still another class of people you will have to 
deal with, those who are always ready to contradict and 
and discredit new ideas. Should you clash with one of 
these, you might tell him to go to Ringling Brothers' 
Show, where he will see animals performing tricks and 
acting almost like men ; training makes them seem 
almost human, but it is not by nature that they do these 
things. Then you might point out the case of a good- 
looking young fellow among a lot of degenerate-look- 

85 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OE NATURE 

ing convicts in a penitentiary ; nature did not put this 
man there, this man who looks as though he was capa- 
ble of better things ; it was the carelessness of his pa- 
rents and his association with bad company that brought 
about his debasement. 

"Now, Doctor, we have been a great many years, 
even ages, without this wonderful knowledge, but now 
the enlightenment has come. With this information it 
should be the duty of parents not to produce degener- 
ates, but fine boys and girls for their children — strong 
physically, morally, and mentally. And I tell you, Doc- 
tor, if they do not heed, the Heavenly Father will pun- 
ish them. Now, that is all I have to say today." 

"Captain Streeter, I am much interested in all this, 
now that it is imprinted on my mind. The knowledge 
is there, then what do you advise me to do with it? I 
feel that I must not leave you tonight, with such im- 
portant information as I have gathered, without first 
asking every question that is in my mind concerning it, 
and receiving your advice as to how to use it and give 
it to the world. A Question comes to me right away." 

"Well?" 

"Suppose, as I suggested before, that every parent 
is anxious to have all the children sons, and no daugh- 
ters, and in twenty years from now wives will be scarce. 
Now, a man will surely succeed in getting a wife, but 
how is she going to treat her husband ?" 

"My dear man, we were discussing that very question 

a while ago, so why do you bring it up again? Didn't 

I tell you that if girls were spared the necessity of 

earning their living, their manners would change for the 

86 



MARRIAGE LAW REFORM 

better, and they would be brought up in an entirely dif- 
ferent way?" 

"Yes, but we know that a great many unhappy marri- 
ages exist, and that divorces are nowadays not uncom- 
mon, Captain. Very well, but these divorces are un- 
natural. Nature has made men and women with the 
desire and need to live together. No man can afford 
to lose a good wife, and no woman can afford to lose a 
good husband. Much of the trouble is due to the care- 
lessness of parents and the lawmakers. The early train- 
ing of children and the examples they have before them 
of the attitude of their father and mother toward each 
other make lasting impressions. It is wise, therefore, 
for the parent to discuss the question of marriage with 
their children and show them that it is a contract for a 
lifetime, and that it is of importance to take plenty of 
time to decide such an important question. When a 
young man is contemplating marriage he should ob- 
serve closely how the young woman has been brought 
up, what has been her station in life, what are her tastes, 
her ambitions, and if she has a disposition that will 
make those happy who live with her. Also, he should 
consult his own parents before telling either the young- 
woman, or her parents, of his wish to marry her. So, 
too, if a young man call repeatedly upon a young woman, 
intending to marry her, it is the duty of her father and 
mother to make inquiry as to the character and stand- 
ing of the man, his ability, his character, his temper — 
all should be taken into consideration before she gives 
herself to him, for better, for worse, for a lifetime of 
joy or for a lifetime of sorrow. If the facts are pointed 

87 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

out to her clearly by her parents, much trouble may be 
avoided. If she has been reared in luxury, without 
knowledge of the practical side of life, she is not fitted 
to be a poor man's wife ; if she has been reared in 
poverty, without education, she would hardly be fitted 
to preside over the home of the man of wealth and 
culture. However, wealth would make little difference 
if both were cultured or both were ignorant. We 
might cite, for instance, the example of a man who goes 
to a horse market to buy a pair of horses. He selects 
a valuable draft horse and a valuable race horse. He 
first hitches them to a truck to pull a heavy load, and 
what is the result? The draft horse will pull his end 
all right, but the race horse cannot bring up the other 
side, and he takes the horses out and hitches them to 
a carriage. The race horse feels at home and starts off 
at a lively pace, but the draft horse cannot keep up. The 
race horse is nettled and the carriage is torn to pieces. 
Then the man of poor judgment says, "I am in despair. I 
paid $1,000 apiece for these horses, and they are worth- 
less.' An expert horseman comes along, and buys the 
valuable horses for a song, and after the bargain is 
closed, he says, 'You big ignoramus. Can't you see that 
these horses are not made for the same purpose ? They 
are worth all you paid for them, but they are worth 
nothing when you put them together.' So it is with our 
mismated young people — they cannot pull together. 
Then comes disagreement, ending in divorce. First the 
parents are responsible, and then the law that makes it 
too easy for young people to get married. Two young 
people meet, they are fascinated almost at first sight, 



MARRIAGE LAW REFORM 

and in a few days decide to marry. They go to the 
courthouse where they can get a marriage license quick- 
er than a dog license, and in a few days they discover 
that they cannot agree. Trouble unfits the man for 
business, the home is broken up, the woman is heart- 
broken, and their lives ruined. The next step is the 
divorce court." 

"Oh, yes, you are right, Captain. Much of the trouble 
is due to the carelessness of parents, but what have the 
lawmakers to do with it? I cannot see that they have 
anything to do with the trouble of these unfortunate 
people." 

"Certainly they have. The lawmakers are supposed 
to be people of education and wisdom, and they are 
elected by the people to use their wisdom for the benefit 
of the public." 

"Yes,- but they can do nothing more than to go by 
the law." 

"Yes, go by the law, but the law can be changed 
when it is found to be bad or not sufficient protection 
to the people." 

"I can't make out what kind of a change should be 
made in the marriage license department. Will you 
outline your ideas as to the reforms that ought to be 
made in our marriage laws?" 

"I will, and I'll tell you exactly what is necessary to be 
done. Instead of having one clerk at the marriage li- 
cense department, they should have one of the best 
courtrooms in the county building, with six judges in 
it, to be known as the 'Matrimonial Inspector's Court.' 
From this court marriage licenses should be issued, and 
89 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

from this court alone should divorces be granted. Three 
men and three women should sit as judges in this court, 
and two men and two women should be people who have 
been married, separated and re-united, so that they may 
have full knowledge of what divorce means. The third 
woman should be a highly educated physician, and the 
third man a professor, expert in judgment concerning 
human nature, able to read the heart as did Solomon 
of old. When a marriage license is desired the man and 
the woman should go together to the court, make appli- 
cation, and pay the license fee. It should then be the 
duty of the court 'professor of human science' to use 
his great ability to discover and to inquire into the 
merits and demerits of the contracting parties. Let 
him first examine into all the facts regarding the man — 
his name, age, residence, occupation, religion, national- 
ity, what he is worth, and if he owns a home and wheth- 
er he works with his hands or with his brain. Then he 
should question the woman as to her age, religion, edu- 
cation, her knowledge of domestic science, her station 
in life based upon her father's financial standing, how 
long they have been acquainted, etc., etc. Then the 
professor should make known to the other five judges 
the result of his investigation, giving his opinion of 
their fitness one for the other and his reason, taking 
care to bring up and discuss any possible points which 
might lead to trouble later on. Then the couple are 
brought in, and the senior judge says : 

" 'We, the Court of Matrimonial Inspection, predict — ' 
etc., etc., 'and we stipulate that these matters receive 
your careful consideration, and two weeks from this 
90 



INTERNATIONAL PEACE 

day you shall again appear before this court and ratify 
or annul your application for marriage license. Then 
we, the judges sitting in this court, will formally issue 
license or strike your application from the records, as 
you shall see fit.' 

"Two weeks later, when the license is issued, it shall 
be the duty of the women judges to give them an ad- 
dress setting forth their duties and obligations, coupled 
with the best possible advice, and to extend to them 
the blessing of the court. It shall also be the duty of 
this court to hear and act upon all applications for di- 
vorce, and no lawyer or written evidence shall be al- 
lowed in this cowet, the parties to the suit and their 
witnesses coming under the direct examination of the 
court, and those judges will come very near making a 
wise and just settlement of the matter. That is my 
opinion, Doctor, and I am sure if they would pass such 
a law, it would check some of this divorce trouble." 

"Captain, I think your idea is a good one, and if 
carried out would result in great benefit to the people. 
In a few years we would have happier conditions with 
much less expense to the state." 

"I know that, and they ought to be carried out. If 
not, the people will get the worst of it. I know that — 
I can see it." 

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN YOU SAY 
YOU SEE IT?" 

"I mean that I can see there must be great changes 
brought about in governmental affairs, not only in mar- 
riage laws, but in all affairs of the state. The people 
suffer such unlawful crimes — the conditions are dread- 
91 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

ful, and few people understand the causes that underlie 
these conditions. Men are gradually losing that spirit 
of fair dealing and righteous treatment of others that 
should form the basis and life of government, of busi- 
ness and domestic affairs. Crime abounds on every 
hand, trouble increases daily, war, misery and poverty 
prevail. A large majority of the people of the world 
have not the necessities of life, and live in slavery and 
degradation, while those who have succeeded in getting 
a 'corner' on the wealth of God's world wallow in the 
mire of selfish indulgence, and from the cradle to the 
grave never taste the happiness that comes with right 
living. God's immutable laws are for the happiness of 
all and violators of those laws are punished 'to fit? 
third and fourth generation.' For instance, look upon 
the children of the nabobs of wealth. Do you find among 
them the wise, the learned, the gifted of our people, 
or do we look for these brilliant ones among the slums 
of vice and ignorance? Where shall we look for the 
cause? Where shall we place the blame?" 

"I don't know, and I don't think there is any remedy 
for it ; do you ?" 

"Oh, yes, there is a remedy, and it must come from 
the same source as the trouble — from the heads of the 
European nations. If they would establish permanent 
peace treaties, throw down their arms, discharge all 
those strong, able men, abolish ..unjust taxation, and 
make their countries fit places for the honest poor, then 
their people, now dispersed all over the world, would 
return to the land of their birth, uncultivated and un- 
inhabited lands would be made into garden spots, every 



THOSE WHOM GOD LOVES 

country would provide for its own poor. There would 
be no unwelcome foreigners, happiness would prevail, 
and in a few generations crime would be almost un- 
known, and there would be universal prosperity. If 
they don't do that, they will be responsible." 

"Captain, I think you are right, and these rulers are 
the real cause of the trouble in the world. If the people 
could make them understand and they would carry out 
the wishes of the people, all might be well, but if they 
hold to the old idea of master and slave, the people may, 
as you say, because of their misery, become like wild 
animals, devouring each other, and then we would have 
universal war, extending over all the nations of this 
earth." 

"Do you really think, then, that men can go back- 
ward and be like cannibals ?" 

"No, I don't think people will get so low as to devour 
each other, and you know that we have reason to hope 
for universal peace in the end, as the Peace Conference 
held here a short time ago pointed out the way, and let 
us hope that in some way these needed reforms may be 
brought about before a righteous God brings everything 
to an end. But we have many great and good men in 
our world, whose deeds are pleasant in the sight of God, 
and, you know, we read in the Holy Scriptures that God 
would not destroy the world if even ten good men could 
be found, and you know we have many whom God loves, 
don't you?" 

"No, I did not know that there were any men in par- 
ticular. Will you tell me who they are?"' 

"Well, I will tell you. God gave to man great brain 
93 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

force and power to make great changes in the world, 
and those men who develop this brain force and bring 
about these wonderful changes are the men who are 
loved by God. When He looks down on this earth and 
sees the steamboat with 3,000 or 4,000 people crossing 
the ocean in four or five days, the small steam engine 
pulling a big number of cars and running with such 
speed, the telegraph wires through the ocean and the 
wireless telegraphy, and all the wonderful structures in 
the world today, and sees the same little man who built 
the big liner, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the forty-story 
building making also the tiny watch set in a wee brace- 
let to ornament a lady's arm and give her correct time, 
the small needle for her use, nothing too small or too 
great, too complex or too simple to engage his brain 
and skill, then He is pleased with the work of His own 
creation, man — little, wonderful man. These are the 
people who are enjoying the freedom of Heaven today, 
and who will forever enjoy it. Their spirits never die 
and they are on earth now, but invisible, and they can 
see the fruits of their labor ; these are the people God 
loves. The people whom God hates are the idlers, the 
lazy, those who live on the work of other people's hands 
and brains, worthless alike to themselves and to their 
fellow-men. There are whole classes of people "who 
never produce anything, never make anything valuable 
or useful. We might mention the Jews ; they never go 
down into the mines to bring out coal, copper, lead, 
silver, gold or diamonds, but after others bring it out 
and get it ready for use, they are very successful manipu- 
lators. While you never saw one of them going down a 

94 



THE SPIRITS OF THE DEAD 

hundred feet in the earth to dig for iron and other ma- 
terials used in a great building, nor operating the der- 
rick that raises the iron columns, yet, when the building 
is completed, they get the key to the most valuable 
corner for a jewelry store or bank, and the probabilities 
are that they will do their hard work in the next world." 

"Well, Captain, I see you have a great deal to say 
about other people, but you probably know there are 
others who say a great deal about you." 

"That may be, I know I have a few enemies in -the 
world." 

"Not a few, Captain, but hundreds of people talk 
against you." 

"Who are they, anyway? It may be that you are one 
of them yourself. But who knows anything about my 
affairs?" 

"Not I, sir. I beg your pardon, but I hear a good 
deal about your claiming thirty millions of dollars worth 
of land made by the city because your ship grounded 
here and stayed with it. Is that true ? And if it is ; is 
it right?" 

"Yes, it is true, and it is right, as I can prove to 
you or to anybody else who has anything to say against 
me. My district is out of the city limits, and is not on 
the city maps. The Illinois Central and others are using 
their ground, and I cannot see why I should not have 
the same right." 

"Well, if that is so, of course you have the same right. 
But supposing you were to acquire all of this valuable 
district clear — what would you do with it. Captain?" 

"That's my business. But if I had my district clear, I 

95 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

would give it to my friends and to charity. I would give 
you a lot at any price you were able to pay, just to have 
some benefit myself in the next world — that's all. But 
they have me at war yet, and I will not give up, even 
if dead my spirit will have to be right here to protect 
my district and give them lots of trouble." 

"Captain, do you mean that your spirit will have 
power to act in this world after you are dead ?" 

"I certainly do, and I can prove it to you." 

"How are you going to prove it to me?" 

"I can prove it to you not through my own experience 
only, but by facts and proofs established by professors 
of high standing. Moreover, I have a great many 
printed testimonies bearing on the phenomena. Here, 
read that, and you will have some proof. That young 
lady, at 106 Union Street, has written several stories in 
the handwriting of Frank R. Stockton, who died in 1902. 
You read that article." 

WOMAN DECLARES SHE WRITES NOVELS BY DICTA- 
TION OE STOCKTON'S SPIRIT. 

Schenectady, N. Y., Oct. 27.— That the spirit of Frank R. 
Stockton, the novelist, who died in 1902, has requested her to 
enter into a profit-sharing plan in the sale of stories dictated to 
her by him, is the announcement made by Miss Etta De Camp, 
of 106 Union street, who, it is declared, has written several 
stories in the handwriting of the writer. 

Stockton's spirit, Miss De Camp states, wants her to give half 
the proceeds from the sale of the stories he has dictated to her 
to his family; she is to keep the other half for her trouble as a 
psychic amanuensis. 

So remarkable are the statements made by the young woman 
that Professor James H. Hyslop, formerly connected with Co- 
lumbia University, but of late with the American Society for 
96 




MTSS ETTA DE CAMP 
Who claims she is Frank R. Stockton's psychic amanuensis. 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

Psychical Research, has arranged for the manuscript to be filed 
with the society. William T. Stead, the noted English writer 
and journalist has become much interested in the case. 

Miss De Camp states that one evening in January she was 
sitting in an easy chair reading an account of a man who was 
painting under the spiritual supervision of a great artist, and that 
a queer sensation came over her. Some one seemed to tell her 
to take pencil and paper. Instructions were followed, and sud- 
denly the pencil began to make scrolls similar to shorthand 
characters. These characters became legible, and one of the 
first messages was a note of introduction from Stockton, saying 
that the vibration of their spirits were the same and asking her 
to write as he dictated. Quoting from one of his first messages 
received on September 22, 1909, is the following: 

"We are to prove to the world how one that is dead can still 
write under these conditions." 

Following this came the signature of Frank R. Stockton. 

In relating one of her peculiar experiences, Miss De Camp 
states that in writing one day she was interrupted suddenly by 
the spirit, which informed her that she should watch develop- 
ments. Then the table began to rock and Miss De Camp, plac- 
ing her hand upon it, was then able to command the table to 
move wherever she desired. 

Miss De Camp claims she is overtaken by a peculiar mental 
sensation when the spirits use her to write for them. She states 
that it feels as though some other personality were forcing itself 
into her brain, causing a painful sensation, which is relieved 
only after she has written what the spirit has commanded of her. 

For the last few days she has been writing a story, "Pirates 
Three." Each day she writes for an hour or so, and claims 
that the spirits guide her to such an extent that she does not 
know what the next word to be written is until told by them. 

"Well, that is a wonderful story, and certainly goes 
to prove your statement. Will you let me have the 
article? I believe you clipped it from the 'Daily News' ?" 

98 



A PSYCHIC AMANUENSIS 

"Yes, it was published in the 'Daily News.' You may 
have it." 

"Thanks, sir. And what have you there? Is that 
something important, too?" 

"Yes, that is a very interesting article. That was 
published in the 'Chicago American/ and was written 
by Professor Caesar Lombroso, the Italian scientist, 
who has just completed a series of most extraordinary 
experiences which would seem to prove beyond a scien- 
tific doubt that the spirits of the dead return to the 
world and reveal themselves to the living." 



Scientific Evidence that the Dead do Come 
Back and Communicate with Us.* 

[There is, without doubt, no more intensely interesting subject 
known to the human mind than the solemn mystery of Death 
and the future life beyond the grave. 

Recently, the foremost men in the world of science have recog- 
nized this, and have admitted that there is a legitimate Held of 
scientific investigation in the mysteries of psychic and medium- 
istic phenomena. 

Professor Caesar Lombroso, the distinguished Italian scientist, 
has just completed a series of most extraordinary experiments 
and tests with a vieiv to proving beyond a scientific doubt whether 
the spirits of the dead return to this world and reveal themselves 
to the living. 

On the folloiving pages are printed Professor Lombroso's own 
report of his experiments, together with the report of another 
scientist who made experiments along the same lines — and f he 



* Reprinted by courtesy of the International News Service, owner 
of the copyright. 

99 



MYSTERIOUS ^DISCOVERY OF NATURE 



conclusions of both arc that the spirits of the dead do hover 
about the tiring and can be seen and communicated with. 

Prof. Lombroso by Extraordinary Experiments Finds 

That Spirits Do Appear, Give Messages, Can Be 

Seen and Touched and Move Objects. 

By Professor Caesar Lombroso. 
The study of the bodily and functional disorders of Eusapia 
Paladino has furnished a clue to the explanation of her strange 

mediumistic faculties, just a-s 
neurosis does for the genius of 
Tadge, of Leopardi and of Co- 
lumbus. 

But thus far the subject has 
not been studied from the point 
of view of mental disease. I 
have only traced out the main 
lines of such a study. 

Madame Paladino's head is 
peculiar. It is small, but very 
long in proportion to its width. 
It measures more in circum- 
ference over the top of the 
head and under the jaw than 
round the temples and back of 
the head. 

The right side of the skull and face is larger and better de- 
veloped than the other — in other words, her .head is not sym- 
metrical. The left eye presents the Claude Bernard-Horner 
phenomenon, a symptom of epilepsy. The eyes are not very 
sensitive to light, but have good seeing power. 

The blood in the arteries showed one-seventh more pressure 
on the left side than on the right. This shows a one-sided de- 
velopment, an abnormality corresponding to that of her head. 

The hypnotic phenomena, which resemble spiritistic phenom- 
ena so much that they are easily confused with them, are fre- 
100 




SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS. 

quent with Eusapia. Thus Dr. Aruilani, merely by rubbing her 
brow with his hand, succeeded in hypnotising her, and soon 
made her fall into a cataleptic state. 

Her culture is that of the lowest grade of people ; she often 
lacks common sense, but she has an intuition and intelligent 
subtlety which contrast with her lack of culture, and which, in 
spite of it, enable her to judge and appreciate the real merit of 
men of genius with whom she comes into contact, without being 
influenced in her judgment by the prestige and the false indica- 
tions given by wealth and authority. 

But she has also morbid indications which almost amount to 
hysteria; she passes quickly from joy to sorrow; she has strange 
fears ;T"f or instance, that of soiling her hands; she is very im- 




Eusapia Paladino, the famous European medium, being tested by 
Professor Lombroso with a blood pressure self-recording instrument. 
101 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

pressionable and subject to dreams, in spite of her ripe age, 
about fifty years. She has frequent hallucinations, and often 
sees her shadow ; as a child she used to think she saw two eyes 
gazing at her behind the trees and hedges. When she is angry, 
particularly when she is offended concerning her reputation as 
a medium, she is violent and impulsive and reviles her enemies. 
In the trance state, which occurs even in full light, merely by 
concentrating her attention on an object, she first turns pale, the 
pupils of her eyes turn upward and inward, her head moving 
from side to side ; she then becomes ecstatic, and many of her 
gestures are similar to those habitual to hysterical subjects, such 




Photograph taken a few minutes after the one following, showing 
how the luminous matter above the medium's head had solidified into 
a spirit hand. Notice that the medium's hands are both securely 
held to prevent possibility of fraud. 
102 



SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS. 




Flashlight photograph at a seance, showing luminous matter on 
top of medium's head "in process of being condensed into some 
spiritual form. 

as yawns, spasmodic laughter, frequent mystification, and at the 
same time vision at a distance: her language is then sometimes 
very elevated and even scientific, often in a foreign tongue, with 
very rapid idealization, so that she seizes the ideas of those 
103 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

present, even when they are not expressed aloud, or translates 
them into some mysterious form ; as, for instance, when Pro- 
fessor Morselli, in order to indicate that he suspected fraud, 
uttered the letters E. T. V. At the close of the seance the most 
important incidents are produced. She has veritable convul- 
sions and cries out as if in distress, or falls into profound sleep ; 
and from the parietal depression on her skull a warm fluid 
evaporates sensible to the touch. 

During the trance she transmits many of her powers to those 
present by touching them for a few minutes at a time, as Home 
could communicate momentary incombustibility. 

All this, and the fact that she retains no recollection of the 

phenomena produced during the trance point to the conclusion 

that this trance is really equivalent to hysteria, a new form of 

" hysterical attack, as genius is, to my thinking, equivalent to 

"psychic attacks of epilepsy in a neurotic and morbid nature. 

This is why Professor Lucatello, of Padua, found with the 
medium, Zuccarini, complete insensibility to touch or pain and 
produced somnambulism even to catalepsy by simply rubbing 
his skin. Professor Patrizi had already observed in this same 
medium other hysteric anomalies. This does not in any way 
derogate from his mediumistic faculties, but, on the contrary, 
partly confirms and explains them, as also, in my opinion, the 




Measuring Muscular Force of Eusapia During a Trance. 
104 



SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS. 

miracles of genius are explicable by accompanying nervous con- 
ditions. 

We cannot, however, arrive at the smallest solution of the 
problems if we do not use recording instruments, which obviate 
all errors of judgment and all possibilities of suggestion and 
which have at the present time been the means of solving the 
most serious scientific problems. 

Those who first entered on this path were Hare and Crookes ; 
many years ago I noted how the energy of a dynamometer placed 




Radiations from Spirit Matter from a Photograph. 



at a distance of a yard from a medium was raised by the action 
of an etheric hand from 36 kilogrammes, or 79 pounds, regis- 
tered before the trance to 92-pounds during the trance, and that.,.-- 
a balance in broad daylight showed variations in weight of 2%lp|' 
pounds. 

But recent observations have been more important. On Feb- 
ruary 18, 1907, we placed a Marey cardiograph or pulse recording 
machine, in the cabinet, a yard away from the medium, who 
turned her hack on it, her hands being held by the controllers. 
The- cardiograph was attached to a pen moving on a smoked 
105 " " 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

cylinder by means of a tube passing through the walls of the 
cabinet. The pen for writing was 20 inches from the left side 
wall of the cabinet and about 5 feet from the medium. When all 
was ready we asked John, "the spirit control," to press on the 
button of the cardiograph. 

After a few minutes we heard the sound of the pen sliding on 
the cylinder, which, having been turned, showed two groups of 
curved lines which rapidly decreased ; a portion of the second 
group was interlaced with the first, because we were unable in 
the darkness to remove the cylinder in time. 

The first group corresponds to about 23 seconds, and the 
second group to about 18 seconds. The tracings indicate either 
rapid exhaustion or slight volitional energy. 

A Marey drum joined to a Francois Franck mercury instru- 
ment for recording blood pressure enabled Professor Bottazzi 
to graphically record the pressure of "John's" touch. The trac- 




This Electric Cardiograph Was Started by a Spirit Hand During a 

Seance and Recorded the Heart Beats of the Medium. 

106 



SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS. 

ing shows three groups of lines, ascending and descending, some 
higher and others lower. Without doubt the first correspond 
to the stronger pressures, and the second to the weaker pressures. 

In the experiences with Drs. Herilitzka and Foa a mercury 
blood pressure instrument drew several lines on the smoked paper, 
the highest of which corresponded to 56 millimetres of mercury; 
this indicated, taking into consideration the proportions of the 
elastic membrane, that a pressure equivalent to about 10 kilo- 
grammes, or 22 pounds, had been exerted on this membrane. 

At the Societe des Science Psychiques, at Milan, the opening 
and closing of an electrical commutator was obtained, and at 
Genoa a pendulum for marking time in music was seen to set 
itself in motion. 

When we approach the subjects of phantoms and apparitions 
of the deceased we are on dangerous ground. 

We are" often tempted to cover up or ignore those facts which 
will not yield to explanations, such as those which rightly find 
so little acceptance, concerning influences from beyond the 
grave. As to the explanation which was at first offered, and is 
still offered, that the phenomena are due to the projection or the 
transformation of psychic force from the medium. I remember 
that I suggested this hypothesis fifteen years ago, and it is the 
first which presents itself to the mind of a positivist when ob- 
serving the numerous nervous symptoms of the medium, her ex- 
haustion after the seance, and the development of phenomena 
in her neighborhood. 

I will indicate, however, two or three observations which 
weaken this ready hypothesis. 

First, the simultaneous occurrence of many phenomena during 
the seances. During a seance at Milan, when Eusapia was at 
her deepest condition of trance, we saw appear on the right. I 
myself and those next to me, the image of a- beloved woman, 
who said to me one confused word, "treasure" it seemed like to 
me. In the middle was Eusapia asleep near us, up above the 
curtain swelled out several times ; at the same time on the left 
a table moved in the cabinet, and from it a small object was 
transported on to the table in the middle. 
107 




> o 






SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS. 

In the last seances in Genoa, M. Barzini felt among Eusapia's 
hair a strange hand, which moved; at the same time the left 
side of the curtain was inflated and seized by a fist, which ad- 
vanced, shaking the material over the head of the controllers 
around the medium; at the same time M. Bozzano, at a yard's 
distance from the latter felt himself touched several times on the 
shoulder. 

Dr. Imoda observed that while a phantom took out of M. 
Becker's hand a pen and returned it to him another phantom 
rested its brow on that of Imoda. 

On another occasion, while I was caressed by a phantom. 
Princess Ruspoil felt herself touched on the head by a hand, 
and Imoda felt his hand pressed forcibly by another hand. 

Several mediums can write with both hands and also speak 
with one at the same time. 

How are we to explain the fact that the psychic force of a 
medium is not only transformed into motor force and sensorial 
force, but can act at the same time in three different directions, 
and for three different purposes? Is it possible for a healthy 
man to concentrate his attention strongly enough to obtain phe- 
nomena in three different directions? 

Things, moreover, occur which are contrary to the medium's 
will, and even against the will of the so-called spirit who oper- 
ates. Having heard that during a seance at the residence of the 
Duke of the Abruzzi the table began drumming out with its 
legs the Royal March, I said, when at Turin; that even tables 
and even John King were royalists ; but I had hardly uttered the 
words when the table began to protest to the contrary, and this 
by such expressive movements that even a person ignorant of 
the ordinary jargon of typology would have had repeated: "Oh! 
John, then you are not a royalist?" he strongly denied by the 
two customary raps ; this occurred at several seances. I sup- 
posed at first that this idea had come from Eusapia, the more 
because at Naples people are warmly devoted to the monarchy. 

Being on intimate terms with her, it was easy for me to turn 
the conversation on to this subject, and the poor woman, who in 
the course of her adventurous life has had too much contact 
109 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

with princes and kings, not always of agreeable kind, told me that 
she had no ideas on politics, that she was not interested in kings, 
or that the only preference she had was for a government that 
should care for the poor ; in none of her subsequent con- 
versations did she express any other opinion. And even toward 
the Duke of the Abruzzi, who remunerated her magnificently 
for her seance, she showed no sort of gratitude, regretting that 
His Royal Highness did not make her a present of his photo- 
graph, and had not shown toward her the same friendly at- 
tentions as others had done. This royalist manifestation did 
not, therefore, emanate either from John of from Eusapia, be- 
cause it was even opposed to their opinions. One day Eusapia 
said to M. R. : 

"This phantom comes for you." She then fell at once into a 
profound trance. A woman of great beauty appeared, who had 
died two years before ; her arms and shoulders were covered 
by the edge of the curtain, in such a way, however, as to indi- 
cate the form. Her head was covered with a very fine veil ; 
she breathed a warm breath against the back of M. R.'s hand, 
carried his hand up to her hair, a,nd very gently bit his fingers. 
Meanwhile Eusapia was heard uttering prolonged groans, show- 
ing painful effort, which ceased when the phantom disappeared. 

The apparition was perceived by two others present, and re- 
turned several times. An attempt was then made to photograph 
it. Eusapia and John consented, but the phantom, by a sign 
with the head and hands, indicated to us that she objected, and 
twice broke the photographic plate. The request was then made 
that a mould of her hands might be obtained, and although 
Eusapia and John both promised to make her comply with our 
desire they did not succeed. In the last seance Eusapia gave 
a more formal promise; the three usual raps on the table in- 
dorsed the consent, and we indeed heard a hand plunged in the 
liquid in the cabinet. After some seconds R. had in his hands 
a block of parafine, with a complete mould, but an etheric hand 
advanced from the curtain and dashed it to pieces. 

This concerned — as we afterward learned — a woman who had 
a strong reason for leaving no proof of her identity. It is evi- 
110 



SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS. 

dent, therefore, in this instance, also, that a third will can inter- 
vene in spiritistic phenomena, which is neither that of John nor 
of Eusapia, nor of those present at the seance, but is opposed to 
all of them. 

It is interesting to observe that in the spiritistic trance motor 
and intellectual forces are manifested which are very different 
very superior, and disproportionate to those of the medium, 
which suggest the intervention of another intelligence, another 
force. 

Thus, as regards muscular force, we have seen that for many 
years the dynamometric force of Eusapia, is equivalent to 79 
pounds, and was raised in broad daylight by an etheric arm, 
which she said was that of "John," her control, to 92 pounds; 
that is to say, that it was increased by 13 pounds. Latterly when 
she has been subject to diabetes, and suffers from exhaustion 
after the seances, her dynamometric force has dropped to 26 or 33 
pounds. Well, in a seance with Professor Morselli, at Genoa, 
the dynamometric force reached 242 pounds ; and in a seance at 
Turin "John," her control, developed sufficient force to break 
a table, a force which may be estimated at at least 220 pounds. 
One must at least estimate at 176 pounds the force which raised 
a table with M. Bocca on it, and a higher estimate must be 
made for the force involved in dragging, for several seconds, 
Professor Bottazzi and his chair, whose weight together was 
205 pounds. 

But if these phenomena are difficult to account for by the pro- 
jection and transformation of the psychic forces of the medium, 
what shall we say of the instance in which the medium was 
slowly raised from the ground with her chair, not only in oppo- 
sition to her own will, but in opposition to the will of the con- 
trollers, who tried to prevent her rising. 

And how are we to explain the lcvitatiuns of Home, who 
floated in a horizontal posture past all the windows of a house, 
and that of two little brothers of Bari, who traversed 2S miles 
in fifteen minutes ? 

It is apropos to recall the fact that the centre of gravity of a 
body cannot be altered in space unless acted upon by an external 
111 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

force. Under the action of internal forces displacements of vari- 
ous parts of the body may occur, but these displacements are of 
such a nature that the centre of gravity is still maintained. 

It is, therefore, evident that since the chair and the medi- 
um taken together constituting a single system in which any 
force emanating from the medium is an internal force, the phe- 
nomenon of levitation cannot be considered as a phenomenon 
produced by energy emanating from the medium, but must be 
held to be caused by some external energy. 

It is true that the majority of the motor phenomena and the 
most intelligent phenomena start from the neighborhood of the 
medium, especially on the left side, which ( she being left-handed) 
is the strongest in the trance. It is true that these efforts are 
preceded by synchronous movements on the part of the medium ; 
it is true that sometimes an ethereal body which serves as an 
arm, and which moves the objects, has been seen to issue from 
her skirt, or from her back, in full light, but it does not follow 
because the medium is a great factor, even the greatest factor, 
in these efforts that they are exclusively her own doing. 

In "haunted houses," where suddenly bottles, chairs, tables, 
etc., are seen to move, no one talks about the influence of a me- 
dium, since it is often in uninhabited houses that these phenom- 
ena occur for many generations, and even for centuries. 

It must be observed that Eusapia shows great antipathy to 
technical instruments, and is completely ignorant as to their 
management; it is, therefore, curious to observe that in experi- 
ments at Genoa, Turin and Naples, "John" was able to close and 
open the contact breaker, to press the Marey drum, to arrange 
a stethoscope, and to set a metronome in motion. 

This is the first occasion, if I am not mistaken, that we have 
come into intimate experimental contact with these phenomena — 
I will even say with the organism called spirit — with these 
transitory, impalpable representatives of the life beyond, the 
existence of which is both maintained and disputed, through 
fear or through respect for universal tradition, renewed, as it 
is, by thousand; of facts which occur constantly under our very 
eyes. 

112 



SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS. 

We find, as I already foresaw some years ago, that these 
bodies belong to that other state of matter, the radiant state, 
which has now a sure foothold in science, and which is the only 
hypothesis which can reconcile the ancient, universal belief in 
the persistence of some manifestation of life after death, with 
the result of science, according to which no functioning is pos- 
sible without an organism, and there can be no functioning with- 
out loss of weight ; and it also harmonizes with this other phe- 
nomenon which we have under our eyes in spiritistic experiments. 

We rarely see the face and body of these phantoms complete, 
except in rare cases, such as those of Katie King (in England), 
and Eleanor (at Barcelona), when these spirit beings remained 
in our midst for days and years ; generally our eyes only per- 
ceive certain limbs, the hands, an arm, etc., which emanate either 
from some part of the medium's body, or from the curtain of 
the cabinet, and which have an instinctive tendency to wrap 
themselves in the curtain, not finding their mediumistic veil 
sufficient. 

When we touch them, on rare occasions, and only for a short 
space of time, we note that they are solid ; but we more often 
feel an etheric body which is inflated, and vanishes under pres- 
sure, but of which we cannot, on that account, deny the existence, 
which, on the contrary, for that very reason, we must believe 
to be formed of some substance, and of substance which is dis- 
sipated by our touch, because it is more ethereal, and more at- 
tenuated than ordinary gas, of which at one time we denied the 
existence, which we should still deny were it not that chemistry 
had proved it to us. 

Evidently, however, these beings or these remnants of beings 
would not be able to obtain complete consistency to incarnate 
themselves if they did not temporarily borrow a part of the sub- 
stance from the medium, who at the time is overcome, almost 
as though at the point of death, but to borrow force from the 
medium is not the same thing as to be identical with the me- 
dium. 



113 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

Flashlight Photographs Taken at Seances Show Hands 

and Luminous Matter in the Process of Being 

Condensed Into Spirit Forms 

By Guillaume de Fontenay. 

For ten years I had had no opportunity of seeing Eusapia 
Paladino at one of her seances. The investigations which have 
been carried on since that time seem to have been justified in 
larger measure than I could have dared to hope. 

Eusapia has just passed some months among us. Some of the 
most distinguished members of the young Institut General Psy- 
chologique, notably M. Branly, Mme. Curie, M. Ochorowiez and 
M. Courtier, have studied her during the course of numerous 
evenings through the whole of December and a part of January. 

I had set myself the task of registering photographically, what- 
ever materialization phenomena she might afford, and for this 
reason : It may not be superfluous to explain, for a great number 
of observers of phenomena called occult do not appear to under- 
stand the utility, the necessity almost, of admitting a camera 
among the group of sitters, however few in number. It is be- 
cause two principal objections have been raised against Pala- 
dino's phenomena — fraud and hallucination. 

Fraud depends on the strictness of the watch kept, or rather 
upon the vigilance exercised; hallucination can be judged by 
registered apparatus. The best and most practical, the most 
portable of all these instruments is, no doubt, the photographic 
camera. 

During seances I only applied myself to registering phenomena 
of materialization. In 1897 I photographed levitations of the 
table. Both before and after that time a number of similar 
photographs have been taken. Most of my colleagues in observa- 
tion of this nature were already convinced that Eusapia could 
produce perfectly genuine movements of objects without con- 
tact; that is to say, exempt from fraud and hallucination. The 
general public, and especially those who have never studied 
Eusapia closely may believe us or not ; it matters very little. 

There were more serious doubts as to the reality of the visible 
114 



SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS. 




Receiving a Spirit Message While in a Hypnotic State. 



materializations produced by this medium, and these doubts I 
do not claim to have fully set at rest. I merely bring forward, 
in all sincerity, some documents calculated to throw light on the 
problem. 

On January 27, after a very bad opening of the seance, which 
had caused me to leave my place at the apparatus, I was suddenly 
surprised to see the legendary hand of "John" appear in a fairly 
good light a little above and behind the medium's head, although 
"John's" elbow was placed at the back of Eusapia's neck. I saw 
the head and a portion of the forearm. The materialization was 
incomplete, or seemed so to me. It did not appear very solid, and 
although the apparition was very rapid, it seemed to me the 
fingers were not all distinct and separate from each other. I 
had the impression of an enormous crab's claw rather than a real- 
hand. 

This apparition was seen and described as I have just de- 
115 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 



scribed it, with very light variations, by the majority of those 
present. 

As soon as we had observed the phenomenon I returned to 
the apparatus, informing Eusapia that I wished to take a photo- 
graph of a similiar manifestation, and asking her to repeat it, 
if it were possible. Less than three minutes later she called out . 
"Fucco, fucco !" I pressed the bulbs for the exposure and flash-^ 
light, and the deflagration and blinding magnesium light gave me 
the accompanying picture. (See page 101.) The distance from the 




8w# ' -V', 



*-••*■■ . 





Mould of a Hand Made in Clay by Spirits. 
116 




Fantastic Drawings Made by Spirits, 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

phenomenon at which I then stood and the anxiety to avoid mis- 
takes had prevented me from seeing what I had photographed. 

"Is it John's hand, Eusapia?" I asked the medium. 

"No," she replied. "It is fluid above my head." 

I thought that the plate would give me nothing of interest, 
and was much surprised, on developing it an hour later, to dis- 
cover the strange cap on Eusapia's head. 

My first thought was that the latter had adroitly slipped a 
white handkerchief on to her head. It is true that the con- 
trollers testified to the strictness of their guard, and that Eu- 
sapia's hands could be seen, held in those of the gentlemen. But 
another and stronger consideration eliminates this hypothesis, 
and that is the extreme whiteness of the object. We know how 
rapidly distance diminishes the illumination of bodies (law of 
inverse squares), and how the aerial perspective increases this 
effect, so as to still further diminish the brightness of distant 
objects. Now if we compare the whole of the head-dress in 
question with that of the toilettes in the foreground, we shall 
see (and direct experience has since confirmed this) that a hand- 
kerchief, even a very white one, would have come out much 
grayer in tone. 

My impression (which I do not seek to force upon anyone) is 
that I have really photographed matter in process of condensa- 
tion. It will be necessary, however, to multiply trials of this 
kind, for I freely admit that a single document amounts to very 
little. What I photographed on her head, and what everybody 
saw the moment before the flash — this thing, whatever it was, 
disappeared in the twinkling of an eye, and was no longer to be 
seen. 

But as during the same seance, we were able to observe under 
good control, appearances of materialized hands above the me- 
dium's head, I formed the project of photographing them during 
the next seance, if they reappeared, not when the medium called 
for the flash, but without warning, whenever I considered the 
phenomenon good and the moment favorable. 

The sudden deflagration of magnetism during a sitting, when 
Eusapia does not expect it, always causes her to have a sort 
118 



SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS. 

of nervous attack, not of a serious nature, but which may spoil 
the remainder of the seance. I therefore informed M. Gabriel 
Delanne of my intention and he approved of it and encouraged 
me to proceed. 




Photograph During a Seance Showing How a Table Was Lifted Up 

by Spirit Power and Moved About in the Air. 

119 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

The preliminary phenomena of levitation, with which the seances 
always open, took place in full light. When the gas had been 
slightly lowered (the light being still satisfactory), touches were 
felt through the curtain, and I then saw a hand appear and re- 
appear rapidly above the medium's head in the opening of the 
curtain. "Are you keeping good control ?" I asked the guardians. 
They replied that they were. A few moments later a hand again 
appeared, and I at once released the apparatus. In this way the 
picture shown herewith was taken, which shows the hand above 
Eusapia's head. 

In any case, one point is settled. The appearances of hands 
in the vicinity of Eusapia are not generally hallucinatory, nor 
after the formations of lights which are observed to occur with 
this medium. If my photographs proved no more than this, 
their importance would not be negligible. 

I venture to hope that in future the photographic study of these 
manifestations will be less neglected, and I do not doubt that 
other documents of the same nature will soon be added to these. 
As for the controllers, let them redouble their vigilance, and 
not allow themselves to be turned away from their role by the 
discouraging thought that, after all, fraud on the part of the 
medium has been set aside; people will still believe that their 
senses have been deceived. Let their word be clear and decisive 
as regards the control, and the apparatus will speak with no 
less clearness and precision with respect to the phenomena. 
* * * * 

Besides the photographs by M. de Fontenay, described above, 
photographs have recently been made in France of radiations 
from spirit matter, and of a human hand moulded in clay by 
spirits. Fantastic spirit drawings have been done, and messages 
received from the dead, by a scientific investigator, while writing 
automatically in a hypnotic condition. 

Painters from time to time have attempted to portray ghosts. 
One of the most notable works of art of this sort is Sir John 
Millais' picture of a beautiful girl, appearing to a man in a 
prison cell. It is based on a historic tradition. According to 
Professor Lombroso's deductions, such visions are not merely 
120 



Father Gaffre Finds an Ancient Manuscript of a Letter from 
Christ to King Abgar and Also New Evidence Con- 
cerning the Saviour's Likeness. 

The Newly Discovered Letter Said to Be Written by the Saviour. 

"Go Bbgar, tbe Goparcb of JEoessa, Greeting: 

"JBlesseo art tbou, © Bbgar, ano blesszo is tbp cttp wbic ! > 
is calico Boessa. Gbou art blessco, because tbou bast be= 
lieveo In me, altbougb tbou bast never seen me, ano tbp 
faitb sball be restored to tbee forever. 

"Concerning mp coming to tbee, it is neeoful tbat 11 accom* 
plisbtbe mission for wbicb 1f was sent bere on eartb, ano 
tbat after 1f bave accomplisbeD it H return to mp fatber, wbo 

gent me. 

"JBut If will seno to tbee one of mp Disciples, calleO Cbao* 
oeus, or Gbomas, wbo sball cure tbp sicftness ano give tbee 
eternal life ano Do wbat is necessary for tbp citp, so tbat 
none of tbp enemies map triumpb over tbee even to tbe enD 
of time. Bmen. 

"jfor 11 bave left Ibeaven ano bave come Down to save tbe 
buman race, ano 1T bave Dwelt in a virgin's womb in orOer to 
expiate tbe sin of Boam in tbe lost paraoise, anO U bave 
bumbleo mpself in oroer tbat tbou mapest be eialteD." 

(The following is a postscript.) 

'Gbis letter written bp me, wberever it sball finD tbee, 
wbetber on tbe roao, iu a bouse, before a tribunal, in time of 
trouble or of sorrow, upon tbe sea, in Danger, in tbe miost of 
combat against enemies, or on anp otber occasion of a similar 
nature, tbis letter sball fceep awap all misfortunes, for it is 
invulnerable, sure ano certain for everp cure ano everp belp. 

Cberefore, be wbo carries it, if be be pure ano witbout re- 
proacb ano abstain from all wicfeeDncss, sball possess in 
tbis for tbe cure of bis soul anD boop a talisman of certain 
power, because tbis is written witb mp own bano, anb 1 
bave sealeO it witb seven seals, in tbe following otoer: 
5E51H5 C1bTC1lS(r, Sow of (3oo, Known as two natures, per* 
feet 0oO ano perfect man. . . ." 

*Reprinted by courtesy of the International News Service, owner 
of the copyright. 



A LETTER WRITTEN BY THE SAVIOUR 

illusions, but have actually appeared to persons — and had a 
photographer been present the images might have been secured 
on a sensitized glass plate — so real and tangible is the stuff that 
ghosts are made of. This at least is the latest belief among 
psychical research students. 



"I should like to have that article, too, Captain." 

"You may have it, and I hope you will make good 
use of it." 

"And this one?" 

"That is another important article. It is about a 
letter presumably from the hand of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, and gives the whole history of it." 

The Abbe Gaffre, a French priest, long noted for his scholarly 
researches in the East, has discovered in Egypt an ancient manu- 
script which contains what appears to be an authentic letter by 
the Saviour. 

It will be recalled that the inscriptions recording the "logia" 
or new sayings of Christ, which are now generally accepted as 
authentic, were found in. Egypt, and there is reason to expect 
more discoveries of a similar character in that country. 

The new manuscript contains not only this letter, but evi- 
dence which indicates that an existing portrait of the Saviour, 
known as the image of Edessa, is really a likeness taken from 
life. A long discussion has been going on in many countries 
among artists and students of sacred archaeology as to how the 
Saviour really looked. Lttdwig Fahrenkrog. a distinguished 
German artist believes that the Saviour should be represented 
as a beardless man because that was the custom of the race and 
class in which He was brought up. 

This view is at variance with many of the most ancient por- 
traits of the Saviour, found in the Catacombs and elsewhere, 
portraits which by many are believed to be accurate likenesses. 



A LETTER WRITTEN BY THE SAVIOUR 



The image of 
Edessa, whose 
accuracy is now- 
strengthened, 
shows a beard- 
ed face of the 
well-known an- 
cient type and 
thus sustains 
the traditional 
belief rather 
than the artist 
Fahrenkrog. 

The history 
of the newly 
discovered let- 
ter is an in- 
tensely inter- 
esting one. Ac- 
cording to tra- 
dition and his- 
tory, there was 
a minor king 
or "toparch" 
named Abgar, 
who ruled over 
the city of 
Edessa in Ar- 
menia, beyond 
the River Eu- 
phrates. His name has been variousl 




King Abgar Handing His Letter to tthe Courier 
Ananias. 



known in different lan- 
guages as Abgar, Aghar, Abagar and Augar. 

This king sent an embassy to Marinus. a tribune of Caesar, 
and governor of Phoenicia, Palestine, Syria and Mesopotamia. 
The ambassadors, during their journey, heard of Jesus Christ 
and the marvels He had performed. 

They sought and found an opportunity of seeing Him them- 
selves and saw Him heal the sick with their own eyes. On their 
124 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 



return the am<- 
bassadors r e- 
lated to King 
Abgar the won- 
derful things 
they had wit- 
nessed, and the 
implacable hat- 
red against the 
Saviour of the 
Scribes and 
Pharisees, who 
out of envy 
wished to en- 
compass H i s 
death. 

Now it hap- 
pened that King 
Abgar was af- 
flicted with an 
incurable mala- 
dy. When he 
heard the re- 
cital of the won- 
derful deeds of 
the Saviour, he 
believed in Him 
at once, as if 
The Saviour Receiving the Letter from King Abgar by a miracle. 

The king not 
unnaturally expected that the Saviour would cure him of his 
disease. 

Letters were exchanged between King Abgar and the Saviour. 
It is an ancient manuscript of these letters which has just been 
discovered by the Abbe Gaffrc in Egypt. It is in Greek and 
dates from the sixth century, or about 550 A. D. This is not 
a very long time after the death of Christ, and as the manu- 
125 




A LETTER WRITTEN BY THE SAVIOUR 



script has always been preserved in the region where the first 
Christians lived, it is reasonable to believe that it is a first copy 
of the original documents. 

The manuscript was purchased from a very old Coptic or 
Egyptian Christian family. It is decorated with very beautiful 
illuminated drawings or miniatures, illustrating the occurrences 
referred to in the letters. 

First comes the letter of King Abgar, which is borne by the 
King's cursor or courier, named Ananias. It is hardly necessary 
to explain that this is not the wicked man whose terrible fate 
is described in the New Testament. Ananias was a common 
name in Asia Minor, and this one was evidently a faithful serv- 
ant of King Abgar. The king's letter is as follows : 

"Abgar, Toparch of the City of Edessa, to Jesus, good man and 
physician, who has 
appeared at Jeru- 
salem, greeting : 

"I have heard 
speak of Thee and 
Thy cures, that 
by the power of 
Thy word alone 
Thou givest sight 
to the blind, the 
power of walking 
to the lame, hear- 
ing to the deaf ; 
that Thou drivest 
out impure de- 
mons and Thou 
healest those who 
suffer from chron- 
ic torments and 
that a woman at- 
tacked by a hem- 
orrhage for years 

was healed by King Abgar Receiving the Portrait of Jesus. 
126 




touching Thee and that Thou 
raisest the dead. 

"Having heard these things con- 
cerning Thee, O Lord, I have 
conceived in my heart that Thou 
are either God himself or the Son 
of God, who has come down from 
Heaven to accomplish these things ; 
and for this reason I supplicate 
and pray Thee, by these letters 
and these prayers, not to disdain 
to come unto me, in order that 
Thou mayest heal the sickness 
from which I suffer, and that 
Thou mayest do what is needful 
for my city, that my enemies may 
not take it and destroy it. 

"It has also been reported to 
me that the Jews are angered 
against Thee and wish to kill 
Thee. Now I have a small and 
modest city, which would suffice 
for Thee and me. 

"Command me, O Lord, my 
God." 

The manuscript then gives the 
letter which the Saviour sent in 
reply to Abgar. It is printed in 
full elsewhere in this book. 

When Abgar received the reply 
and found that he could not per- 
suade the Saviour to visit him he 
resolved at least to obtain the di- 
vine portrait. 

"King Abgar," continues the 
manuscript, "then sent a courier, 



The Entire Manuscript Discover 
ed by Father Gaffre, Containing the 
Letters and the Illustrations. 




The King's Messenger on His Return Journey, Showing the Cloth 
With the Picture of the Saviour. 




who was also a portrait 
painter, to the Saviour. 
When this courier arrived 
in the outskirts of Jerusa- 
lem he was received by 
Jesus, who said to him: 
" 'Man, thou art a spy.' 
"But the courier answer- 
ed: 

" 'I am not a spy, Lord, 
but I am the messenger of 
Abgar, the toparch of the 
City of Edessa, and am de- 
sirous to contemplate the 
visage of Jesus of Nazareth 
and to make His portrait.' 

"Jesus then commanded 
him to enter into the syna- 
gogue, where He began to 
instruct the people. The 
courier mounted on a high 
place and studied the fea- 
tures of Jesus, desiring to 
record them on canvas, but 
a divine power prevented 
him from recording them. 
The Saviour then sent one 
of His disciples, Thaddeus, 
or Thomas, and having 
poured out water He wash- 
ed His face; then taking a 
cloth of linen He wiped it 
and the divine visage was 



The Saviour Giving His 
artrait to the King's Mes- 
senger, and Two Soldiers 
Watching the Column of Fire 
That Follows the Portrait. 
From the Manuscript Illus- 



trations. 







« 



•T! 




..!• 




The Image at Edessa, as It Appears Today, in the Golden Casket in 
the Church of San Rartolummeo. Genoa. 



MYSTERIOUS DISCOVERY OF NATURE 

impressed on the cloth and He delivered it to the courier and 
sent it to Abgar." 

Eusebius of Caesarea and Moses of Choarene, historians of 
the fourth century, have already recorded these occurrences in 
nearly the same form. 

The courier brought the miraculous portrait to King Abgar, 
and when he touched it he was immediately cured of his terrible 
disease. The precious relic, the guardian of the health of 
Edessa, remained in that city for many centuries. The Mussul- 
mans found it there when they took the place in the tenth cen- 
tury, and they preserved it religiously. 

In 944 Romanus Lecapenus, emperor of Byzantium, succeeded 
in obtaining from the Emir of Edessa the transference of the holy 
image and the letter to Constantinople, where they were received 
on April 16, 945, with honors which the Greek historians fully 
recorded. 

The image was preserved first at the palace and then at the 
Temple of Pharos, where it was enclosed in a gold case, cov- 
ered with arabesques and small images, which left only the face 
visible. 

The emperor, John Palaeologus, gave the precious relic to 
Leonardo Montaldo, a Genoese, who had helped him greatly 
against the Turks in the fourteenth century, and through him 
it passed into the possession of the Doges of Genoa. There it 
was placed in the Church of San Bartolommeo, where, after 
many adventures, it still remains. 

It is guarded by six locks in a secret tabernacle, of which the 
six principal families of Genoa keep the keys. On the day of 
Pentecost and the two following days the tabernacle is opened 
and the image of Edessa is exposed for the veneration of the 
faithful. 



"You have read it, Captain?" 

"You may have them all, Doctor, and as 1 said, I hope 
they will all be of service to you." 
131 



DR. POLACK'S PURPOSE. 

"All right — thanks, Captain, and I hope to meet you 
again in this world and in the next one." 

"I hope so. Now, Doctor, my object is to place evi- 
dence in the hands of investigators." 

"Well, Captain Streeter, I will tell you what I am 
going to do. I am going to write a small book, and 
publish the ideas you have given me, and many of my 
own experiences and truths arrived at through those 
experiences, and we will see if the people will read, in- 
vestigate, and prove those truths for themselves. Now, 
I am going to ask you one more question, and that is 
all." 

"All right— what is it?" 

"Suppose a man should come to me and say — " 

"Br-r-r r-r-r I am sitting in bed, bolt 

upright, and the milkman is clattering up the back- 
steps — I rub my eyes, and realize that I am the victim 
of a very vivid dream. 

THE END. 



JU198W° 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 
Ml 23 i»w 



